Qass 
Book 



ILLUSTEATED HISTOEY 

OF THE 

NEW WORLD; 

CONTAINING 

A GENERAL HISTORY 

OF ALL THE VAKIOUS 

NATIONS, STATES AND REPUBLICS 

OF THE 

WESTERN CONTINENT; 

COMPEISING THE EAKLIEST DISCOVERIES BY THE SPAOTSH, FRENCH, 
AXD OTHER NA^^GATORS, AN ACCOUNT OF THE 
AMERICAN INDIANS, AND A 

Complete History of the United States to the Present Time. 

IKCLUDING 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WaRS, THE WAR OF THE REYOLUTION, 
THAT OF 1812, THE MEXICAN WAR, AND A COMPLETE 

HISTORY OF THE LATE EEBELLIOI, 

EMBRACING THE BRILLIANT CAREER OF 

GEANT, SHEEMAN, SHEEIDAN, AND THEIE BEAYE COMPATEIOTS. 

WITH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED 
STATES AND OTHER IMPORTANT PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, ANT) 
VALUABLE STATISTICAL TABLES. 

EDITED BY JOHN L. DENISON, A.M., 

Editor of The Pictorial History of tlie Wars, Pictorial Naval History, The New World in German, etc. 



THE ■VVHOLE ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER THREE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS, CONSISTING OF BATTLE SCENES 
VIEWS OF CITIES, FLAGS OF THE VARIOUS NATIONS, PROMINENT EVENTS, AND PORTRAITS 
OF DISTINGUISHED MEN, FROM DESIGNS BY LOSSING, CROOME, DEVERAUX, 
AND OTHER CELEBRATED AMERICAN ARTISTS. 



SOLD ONLY BY THE PUBLISHER'S DISTRIBUTING AGENTS. 



NORWICH, CONN.: 
PUBLISHED BY HENRY 
1868. 



BILL. 




Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1868, 
Bv HENRY BILL, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Connecticut 



Press of Geo. C. Rand & Aveky, Boston. 



PEEFACE. 



The presentation of tMs volume to tlie public, real 
izes a long-cherislied object of its autbor, and also sup- 
plies a want tbat has long been felt, but tbat bas bitb- 
erto been imperfectly if at all gratified. It is intended 
as an " Illusteated Histoey of Ajvieeica, oe the ^nTew 
WoELD," and is believed to be tbe most complete, if 
not tbe only attempt tbat bas been made, to present in 
a single volume so interesting and comprebensive an 
amount of matter. 

As an accession to tbe library of tbe student or gen- 
eral reader, tbis volume, it is confidently bebeved, will 
be found of great value from tbe variety of its statisti- 
cal facts and details, so important for reference and use- 
fed information ; wbile its ornate presentation and beau- 
tifally illustrated cbaracter cannot fail to recommend it 
to pubbc acceptance. 

In executing tbis task, tbe autbor bas availed bimself 
of tbe ample collection of bistorical works, wbicb bis 
studies and writings for many years bave led bim to 
amass ; and in condensing tbe bistory witbin tbe Hmits 
prescribed for tbe work, be bas endeavored to avoid 
omitting any tbing wbicb was important to be com- 
prised in a general bistory of tbe American continent. 

Sucb a bistory necessarily comprises many events of 
romantic and tbrilling interest; and brings into view 



4 



PREFACE 



many characters wlio have won the admiration and 
applause of the world ; while its historical details con- 
vey many important and nseful lessons in morals, mili- 
tary and political science, and legislation. 

To the American citizen all that relates to the history 
of his own country is always interesting; while the 
condition and character of the contiguous countries pre- 
sent objects of interest of a nature scarcely less attrac- 
tive. 

The pictorial embellishments which are inserted in 
the work are not intended for mere ornaments. Their 
use is to impress historical facts indehbly on the mind. 
This effect of pictures is now so generally acknowledged, 
that they seem to be indispensable in a book intended 
for general circulation among the people. For this 
reason, a very large number have been inserted in the 
volume ; and they will be found by the reader to em- 
brace an unusual variety of interesting subjects. 

It is hoped that the work now submitted to the pub- 
lic will be found not unworthy of the same kind indul- 
gence which has been manifested toward the previous 
attempts of the author to advance the great cause of 
popular information. 



CONTENTS 



PAcns 

CHAPTER I.— Discoveries of the Noethmen 13 

II. — Discovert op Columbus 21 

III. — Spanish Discoveries and Conquests 27 

IV. — The Conquest op Mexico 36 

V. — Recent History of Mexico 80 

VI. — Central America 91 

VII. — California 112 

VIII.— Florida 120 

IX.— Canada under the French 142 

X. — Minor Provinces of British America 163 

XL— History of Oregon < 194 

XII. — Greenland 198 

XIII. — Russian America 200 

XIV — Settlement of Virginia 203 

XV. — Virginia till the Peace of 1763 226 

XVI.— Maryland 234 

XVII. — Massachusetts 240 

XVIII.— Settlement of Connecticut. ... 259 

XIX. — Rhode Island 264 

XX. — Maine and New Hampshire 266 

XXI New York 269 

XXII.— New Jersey 281 

XXIII. — Pennsylvania and Delaware 285 

XXIV. — The Carolinas and Georgia 293 

XXV.— The Seven Years' War 301 

XXVI. — Commencement of the Revolution 3iO 

XXVII. — First Hostilities of the Revolution 319 

XXVIII.— Expedition to Canada 330 

a2 5 



6 CONTENTS. 

OHAP. XXIX.— Campaign of 1776 334 

XXX. — Campaign or 1777 and Conclusion of the Treaty with 

France 354 

XXXI.— Campaign or 1778 377 

XXXII.— Campaign of 1779 389 

XXXIII. — Campaign of 1780 403 

XXXIV. — Campaign of 1781 - . 417 

XXXV. — Close of the Revolutionary War 435 

XXXVI. — Organization of the Federal Government. Washing- 
ton's Administration 440 

XXXVII. — Administration of John Adams 454 

XXXVIII. — Administration of Thomas Jefferson 459 

XXXIX. — Administration of James Madison 474 

XL.— Campaign of 1812 48C 

XLL— Campaign of 1813 490 

XLII.— Campaign of 1814 504 

XLIII. — Administration of James Monroe 520 

XLIV. — Administration of John Quincy Adams 523 

XLV. — Administration of Andrew Jackson 5Q5 

XL VI. — Administration of Martin Van Buren 529 

XL VII. — Administrations of Harrison and Tyler 531 

XLVIIL— History of Texas 534 

XLIX. — Administration of James K. Polk — Opening or the 

Mexican War 54C 

L.— Operations of General Taylor 544 

LI. — Operations in California and New Mexico 560 

LII. — Campaign of Genkral Scott 564 

Lm. — Administeation of Taylor 605 

" " Fillmore 618 

LIV. — Administeation of Pierce 643 

LV. — Administeation of Buchanan 659 

LVI.— Administration of Lincoln . . 6Tl 

LVII. — Administration of Johnson 763 

LVIIT. — Canada under the British. . . 769 

LIX. — South America 785 

LX. — The "West Indies &11 

APPENDIX. 

Constitution of the United States 831 

Declaration of Independence 840 

Articles op Confederation 843 

Population of all the Counties in the United States, accord- 
ing to the Census of 1860 858 



LIST 

OF 



THE PRINCIPAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAOS 

Head Piece to Chapter 1 13 

Discovery of Greenland 14 

Landing of the Northmen 15 

Tyrker discovering the Grapes 16 

Ships of the Northmen 17 

Northmen trading with Indians 19 

Biome's Presents 29 

Columbus 21 

Francis I 23 

Henry VH 24 

Sailing of Columbus 25 

Vespucci 26 

Balboa 27 

Pizarro 30 

Balboa discovering the Pacific Ocean *. . . 31 

Pedrarias 33 

Landing of Cortes , 36 

Olmedo 39 

Volcanic Mountains, as seen from Tacubaya 43 

Gladiatorial Sacrifice 46 

Montezuma , 51 

Cortes 52 

Massacre at Cholula 54 

Cortes marching into Mexico 57 

The Great Temple of Mexico 60 

Cortes ordering Montezuma to be chained 63 

Expedition of Narvaez 66 

Defeat of Narvaez 68 

Sandoval 72 

Cortes at Otumba 74 

Olid 76 

Termination of the Aqueduct in Mexico 79 

Interior of a Mexican House 80 

Joseph Bonaparte 82 

Mma 84 

Iturbide 86 



7 



8 ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAOI 

Bustamente 8S 

Alaman 89 

Pedro Alvarado 91 

Kicab Tanub 93 

Great Battle between Alvarado and the Quiches 95 

Celebration of the Founding of St. Jago 98 

Charles V 100 

A lonzo de Maldonado 102 

t lores. 104 

Juan Diaz de Solis 107 

Santiago Iman 110 

San Francisco, California 112 

Monterey, Upper California 115 

Ponce de Leon 120 

Ponce de Leon wounded 122 

Narvaez in Florida 124 

Almagro 126 

Soto appointed Adelantado 127 

Soto discovering the Mississippi 132 

Verazzano 134 

Admiral Coligni 135 

Saturiova showing the Monument 136 

Jacques Cartier 140 

Cartier taking possession of New France 143 

Champlain ascending the St. Lawrence.. 145 

Place d'Armes, Montreal 147 

Lake George 150 

Expedition of Sir David Kirke 152 

New Cathedral, Montreal 154 

Canadian Hut 159 

Bay of Quebec 163 

Indian Village on the St. Lawrence 164 

Settlement of Port Royal 165 

Fishing Station on the coast of Nova Scotia 168 

Marlborough 169 

Surrender of Louisbourg 173 

Louis XV 174 

Halifax 176 

Domiciliated Indians 177 

Sir Guy Carlton 178 

St. John's, New Brunswick 183 

Cod-Fishery, Newfoundland 184 

Lord Bahimore 186 

Entrance into Hudson's Bay 188 

Trading with Indians 189 

Parry's Expedition 191 

Astoria 194 

Subterranean Hut in the Northern Regions 201 

Peter the Great 202 

Sebastian Cabot 203 

Grenville burning an Indian Town 205 

Raleigh o 207 

Gosnold's Voyage 210 

Captain John Smith 213 

Powhatan 215 

Captain Smith exploring Chesapeake Bay 217 

Pocahontas rescuing Captain Smith 219 

Capture of Pocahontas 221 

The Christian Indian disclosing the intended Massacre 223 

The Great Massacre 224 

James 1 226 

Arrest of Harvey 227 

Charles 1 228 

Signing of Bacon's Commission 230 

Cecil Calvert 232 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 9 

PAOB 

Settlement of St. Mary's 236 

William III 238 

John Winthrop. 240 

Landing of the Pilgrims 242 

Death of Governor Carver 244 

The Treaty with Massassoit 245 

Settlement of Boston 246 

Banishment of Roger Williams 247 

Sir Harry Vane 248 

Trial of Wenlock Christison 251 

Scene in King Philip's War 252 

Burning of Springfield 254 

Emigration of Mr. Hooper and his company 259 

Massacre of the Pequods 260 

Signing of the New England confederation 261 

Roger Williams entertained by the Indians 264 

Gorges and Mason naming their provinces 266 

Governor Stuyvesant 269 

Gustavus Adolphus 273 

Charles II. giving the New Netherlands to the Duke of York 275 

James II 276 

Treaty with the Five Nations 278 

Nassau Hall, New Jersey 281 

William Penn 285 

The Treaty Monument, on the site of the elm tree, where Penn's treaty 

was made c. . . 288 

Interview between William Penn and Lord Baltimore 290 

Savannah in 1778 293 

The Earl of Clarendon 295 

General Oglethorpe 298 

General Wolfe 301 

Washington's interview with St. Pierre 304 

Massacre at Fort William Henry 306 

Abercrombie crossing Lake George 307 

Ruins of Ticonderoga 308 

Death of General Wolfe 309 

Samuel Adams 310 

Stamp Act riot 311 

Reception of the news of the repeal of the Stamp Act 312 

John Hancock 313 

Faneuil Hall 314 

Boston Massacre 315 

Destruction of the Tea in Boston Harbour 316 

Carpenters' Hall 317 

British naval costume 318 

Siege of Boston 319 

Affair at Lexington 320 

Provincials harassing the British on their retreat from Concord 321 

Colonel Allen capturing Ticonderoga 322 

General Warren 324 

Washington's head-quarters at Cambridge 328 

General Ward 329 

General Montgomery 330 

Death of Montgomery 332 

Monument to General Montgomery at St. Paul's church, New- York ... 333 

Battle -Ground of Trenton , 334 

Sir Peter Parker .' 336 

Defence of Fort Moultrie 337 

Independence hall, Philadelphia, when the Declaration of Independence 

was signed 340 

Lord Howe 341 

General Howe 342 

General Sullivan 343 

The retreat of the American army from Long Island 344 

General Lee's head-quarters at Baskinridge "^47 

2 



10 ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAOI 

Battle of Trenton 348 

Battle of Princeton 349 

Washington crossing the Delaware 350 

Washington's head-quarters at Brandy wine 354 

General Wooster 356 

Battle of Brandywine 358 

Battle of Germantown 359 

Battle of Red Bank 360 

Washington's head-quarters at Valley Forge 361 

Murder of Miss M'Crea 363 

Battle of Bennington 364 

General Schuyler 365 

Arnold at Bemis's Heights 366 

Burgoyne's retreat up the Hudson 367 

Surrender of Burgoyne 368 

General Burgoyne 369 

Lord North i 370 

Silas Deane 372 

Thomas Paine 374 

Conclusion of the treaty with France 376 

Commodore John Paul Jones 377 

General Gates 379 

Battle of Monmouth 381 

Count d'Estaing 382 

Massacre at Wyoming 384 

Colonel George R. Clarke 385 

Captain Biddle 386 

Battle between the Ranger and Drake 387 

Baron Steuben 389 

Specimens of Continental Bills 391 

Capture of Stony Point 395 

General Henry Lee 397 

Death of Pulaski 400 

Capture of the Serapis 401 

General Marion 402 

Tarleton's Quarters 404 

Baron de Kalb 405 

General Sumpter 40? 

Battle of King's Mountain 409 

Count de Rochambeau 410 

West Point 412 

Capture of Andre 413 

Major Andre 414 

General Greene 416 

Colonel Howard 417 

Colonel Williams 420 

Colonel Washington 422 

Battle ot Eutaw Springs 424 

Lord Rawdon 425 

Arnold's descent on Virginia 426 

General La Fayette 427 

General Wayne's celebrated charge on the British army 428 

Count de Grasse 429 

Yorktown, from a drawing by Mrs. Simcoe 431 

La Fayette taking the redoubt at Yorktown 432 

Moore's house, Yorktown 433 

Battle- Ground of Yorktown 434 

Captain Barry 434 

Henry Laurens 435 

Colonel Laurens 436 

Commodore Barney 437 

Washington's head-quarters at Newburgh 435 

Washington 440 

Mount Vernon 442 

Washington taking the oath of office in front of the old Federal Hall, 
New York 443 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 11 

Alexander Hamilton 444 

General Wayne defeating the Indians at the Miami 447 

General Knox 449 

Mount Vernon 453 

John Adams • 454 

Commodore Murray 455 

Capture of L'Insurgente 456 

Commodore Truxtun 457 

Tomb of Washington 458 

Thomas Jefferson 459 

Commodore Dale 462 

General Eaton 463 

Commodore Bainbridge • 465 

Capture of Derne 468 

Mobile 4<69 

Aaron Burr 469 

George Clinton 470 

Affair in the Chesapeake 471 

General Wilkinson 472 

James Madison 474 

Tecumseh 476 

Council of Vincennes 477 

General Harrison 478 

Commodore Hull 480 

Defence of Fort Harrison 483 

Queenstown 484 

Commodore Porter - • 485 

Captain Lawrence 488 

Capture of the Caledonia and Detroit 489 

Fort Niagara 490 

Massacre at the River Raisin 491 

Death of General Pike 494 

Sackett's Harbour 495 

Battle of the Thames 498 

Battle of Emuckfaw 500 

Battle of Tohopeka 501 

Captain Allen 503 

General Ripley 506 

General Miller 507 

General Macomb 508 

Commodore McDonough 508 

Battle of Lake ChampTain 509 

Bombardment of Fort McHenry 512 

Cruise of the Essex 516 

Captain Blakely 517 

James Monroe 520 

John Quincy Adams 523 

Andrew Jackson 525 

Tiomas H. Benton 527 

Destruction of Major Dade's detachment 528 

Martin Van Buren 529 

William H. Harrison 531 

James K. Polk 539 

Corpus Christi 541 

Point Isabel 542 

General Taylor 544 

Battle of Palo Alto 546 

Captain May 547 

Matamoras 548 

General Taylor advancing to Monterey 550 

Cavalry Action of the 21st of September 551 

Bishop's Palace, Monterey 554 

Storming of Monterey 555 

General Taylor taking leave of the troops 556 

Repulse of the Mexican Cavalry at Buena Vista 558 



PA6H 

ColonelJefferson Davis 559 

Colonel Fremont 560 

Battle of Bracito 562 

General Keamey wounded at San Pasqual 563 

Greneral Scott 564 

Vera Cruz 566 

Oomraodore Perry 567 

Scott's Landing at Vera Cruz 567 

Battle of Cerro Gordo 568 

Colonel Baker 570 

General Twiggs 574 

General Pierce 575 

General Shields 576 

General Pillow 578 

Charge of the Palmettos 579 

Molino del Key, Chapultepec in the distance 582 

Storming of Molino del Rey 583 

Colonel Ransom 585 

Major, now Colonel Seymour 586 

General Persifor F. Smith 587 

General Worth 588 

Scott's Entrance into Mexico 589 

Colonel Childs 591 

William Pitt, son of the Earl of Chatham 595 

Charles James Fox 597 

View from the Citadel at Kingston 599 

Sir Robert Peel 600 

Lake of the Two Mountains 602 

Navy Island 603 

Toronto 605 

Zachary Taylor 605 

John C. Calhoun 611 

MiUard FiUmore 618 

Henry Clay 633 

Daniel Webster 63! 

Franklin Pierce 643 

James Buchanan 659 

View of Sebastopol at the Final Assault 661 

Abraham Lincoln „ 671 



INTRODUCTION 



AMEKICA, OR THE NEW WOELD. 



The pen of the historian has hitherto been busy in describing ail 
that relates to the Old World, and innumerable treatises on Europe, 
Asia, and Africa, have been the result. Be it our task to bring to view 
the important events relating to the New World, and to place before 
the reader a succession of narrations, which, with the accompanying 
illustrations, shall possess the interest and fidelity of a panoramic de- 
scription. 

America, or the New World, comprises nearly one-half of the habita- 
ble globe, and, with its vast surrounding oceans and numerous islands, is 
known as the western hemisphere. It is divided into North and South 
America. The former extends from 8° to 81° 22' N. lat., the highest 
point of exploration, and from 55° to 168° W. Ion., embracing an area of 
over 8,000,000 square miles, and is separated from Asia on the north- 
west by the narrow strip of water known as Behring's Straits. Its 
winding outline presents a great extent of sea-coast, estimated at about 
9,500 miles on the eastern, and somewhat more cn the western side, in 
addition to the frozen shores of the northern border. South America 
is comprised between the 12th degree of north, and the 56th of south 
latitude, and 36° and 81° W. longitude, containing an area of about 
6,500,000 square miles. Both divisions possess a peculiarly tapering 
form to the south, the former terminating at the narrow isthmus of 
Panama, and the latter, after passing the 6th degree of south latitude, 
gradually contracting its dimensions, and ending in the curved and 
tempestuous point of Cape Horn. 

The fifst discoveries of America remain with some a subject of his- 
torical doubt. We have, however, in our first chapter, given an account, 
which we believe to be reliable, of the discoveries of the enterprising 
Northmen, as early as the tenth century, embracing Greenland, Labra- 
dor, and portions even, as far south as the New England coasts. Cen- 
turies before this, an extensive immigration must have taken place, 



INTRODUCTION. 



from Asia, by way of Behring's Straits, and thus we are enabled to 
account for the aboriginal population, and the evidences of a former 
civilization, here found. But, hidden for ages from the knowledge of 
the learned and enlightened nations of the Old World, the true discov- 
ery of America dates from the period of Christoval Colon, a native 
of the republic of Genoa, better known to us as Christopher Columbus, 
whose immortal enterprises, and those of his successors, are narrated 
in succeeding chapters. 

Prominent among these successors were the Cabots, John and Se- 
bastian, Venetians by birth, who, under the patronage of Henry YII. 
of England, discovered, in 1497, the northern portion of America. 
The name America is derived from Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine, 
who was a secondary agent in the discoveries, but the first to publish 
an account of them. 

And what a mighty event it has proved to the inhabitants of the 
earth! An entire hemisphere was brought to light, constituting in 
reality a New World, with a greater variety of climate and suscepti- 
bility of production, with more expansive lakes, broader and more fer- 
tile plains, mightier rivers, more majestic mountains, and a scenery 
throughout more impressive, than were ever seen before. And with 
the discovery and settlement of America came a new hfe, and a new 
history to be recorded. It is from this, as much as from its recent 
discovery,* that our continent justly derives its appellation. Beginning 
with the early Spanish conquests, we are rapidly presented with a suc- 
cession of heroic struggles for the erection of new states and empires 
on this continent. New thoughts and aspirations were here given 
wing, new and more active energies were brought into exercise, and, 
despite hardships and conflicts of every nature, a new order of things 
has been successfully erected, prominent among which is the principle 
of political self-government, especially as illustrated in our own pros- 
perous and renowned republic 



I 



CHAPTER I. 



DISCOVEKIES OF THE NORTHMEN. 

HE name of Christopher Columbus has so long leen 
associated with the first general knowledge of the 
New World, by Europeans, that numbers of the pre- 
sent day are ignorant of any discovery of our con- 
tinent prior to his time. There is conclusive evi- 
dence, however, of such discovery having been made, although the 
fact cannot in the least detract from the hard-earned fame of the 
Genoese mariner. The people whose records and traditions bear 
testimony to this event, are the Normans or Northmen. 

In the dark ages, the Northmen, natives of Scandinavia, which 
included Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, were the most daring ad- 
venturers of Europe. At different periods, they conquered portions 
nf France, England, Germany, and other nations of Northern and 

B 13 




14 



DISCOVERIES OF THE NORTHMEN. 



Middle Europe, and established naval and trading stations along all 
ihe north-western coast. They also fitted out numerous expeditions 
for distant parts, several of which visited Iceland as early as the 
ninth century, and established a colony there. 

In the year 986, Greenland was visited by Eric Rauda, (the Red,) 
who planted a colony on the south-eastern shore, and named it 
Brattalid. The whole country he called Greenland, either ironically 
or, most probably, for the purpose of alluring emigrants. Different 
settlements were styled Ericsfiord, Heriulfsfiord, Rafnsfiord, &c., 
after the names of the colonists. 

The Northern Chro- 
nicles give the honour 
of originating the spi- 
rit of discovery which 
resulted in first visit- 
ing the Continent now 
called America, to an 
enterprising young 
man, named Biarne, 
son of Heriulf. "He 
had distinguished him- 
self by his activity in 
mercantile pursuits, 
and acquired great knowledge of men a'nd society, by visiting 
foreign countries. When Eric's expedition sailed from Denmark, 
Biarno was in Norway ; but, on ascertaining this, when he arrived 
in his native country, he followed it thither. Being totally unac- 
quainted with Eric's course, the navigators wandered for some time 
upon the ocean, encountering violent winds and severe weather. 
This was succeeded by fogs. When the atmosphere again became 
clear, they discovered a level, sandy coast, sweUing gradually into 
hills, whose tops and sides were crowned with thick woods. As 
this did not correspond to the description of Greenland sent to Eu- 
rope by Eric, no landing was attempted. On the following day, 
more land was discovered, presenting the same topographical out- 
line. Three days after, they came in sight of an island, and con- 
tinuing their course for forty-eight hours, they reached the southern 
extremity of Greenland. They were received gladly by Heriulf, 
and remained in Greenland, until his death, when Biarne succeeded 
the administration of affairs. 




DISOOVBBT OF GBHSNIiAND. 



LANDING OF THE NORTHMEN. 



15 




LANDING OF THB NOSTHMEN. 



The account of the land seen by the young navigator excited 
much attention in the Greenland colony, and roused a spirit of ad- 
venture, somewhat singular in a youthful settlement. Under its 
intiuence. a son of Eric, named Leif, purchased Biarne's vessel, 
and, with thirty-tive men, set sail on a voyage of discovery, (about 
A. D. 1000.) Touching at the island seen by Biarne, he called ii 
Helluland, (flat land,) and reaching, soon after, the first land men- 
tioned by his predecessor, he gave it the title of Markland, (woody 
iand.) Two days after, they landed on an island covered with vege- 
tation, and then sailing westward, they reached the mouth of a river, 

near a strait which separated the island from a high promontoiy 
2 



16 



DISCOVERIES OF THE NORTHMEiT. 




TYREBR DISOOVBBINO THB Q R A P B 3. 



land. A lake was the source of this stream. Pleased with this 
wild spot, Leif determined to establish here a colony ; and, accord- 
ingly, erected wooden huts on the shore of the lake, and caused 
his goods to be conveyed to the lake in boats. 

After remaining some time, and building more commodious houses, 
the colony was organized into two parties, one of which explored 
the country at regular periods, while the other remained at home, 
the leader accompanying them alternately. On one of these expe- 
ditions, grapes were discovered by a German named Tyrker ; and 
from this circumstance the country was calle-d WineJand or Vinland. 
''^his discovery, together with the mildness of the climate, and the 
great abundance of salmon and other fish in the river, rendered the"i 
still more willing to form a permanent settlement. 



DEATH OF THORWALD. 



17 




SHIPS OF THS NO BT HUSH. 



According to the chronicles and traditions of this discovery, Vin- 
land now forms the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The 
other provinces visited by the Northmen are identified as Labrador, 
Nova Scotia, and the northern part of New England. 

The cHmate of the new-found province was delightful. The 
grass is said to have remained green during winter, and the cattle, 
during the same time, placed at pasture in the fields. In the spring, 
Leif returned to Greenland with a cargo of wood, a circumstance 
that revived the spirit of discovery among his countrymen. His 
brother, Thorwald, sailed the following year in Leif's ship, reached 
the New England coast, and passed the winter at Mount Hope Bay. 
In the ensuing spring, (1002,) he again put to sea, doubled a cape, 
supposed to be Cape Cod, and sailed leisurely along the coast, until 
he reached a headland overgrown with wood. Two skirmishes 
here occurred with the natives, in the latter of which Thorwald 
received a mortal wound. He had been instructed in the Christian 
religion by his brother, and feehng his death approach, he collected 
his followers, and asked if any had been wounded. Being answered 
m the negative, he said : " As for me, I have received a wound* 
under the arm from an arrow, and I feel that it will be mortal. I 
advise you to prepare immediately for your return : but ye shall 
Urst carry my body to the promontory which I thought so beautiful, 
und where I had determined to fix my residence. It may be that it 
was a prophetic word which fell from my lips, about my abid- 
ing there for a season. There shall ye bury me, and ye shall plant 



18 



nSCOVERIES OF THE NORTHMEN. 



a cross at my head and another at my feet, and ye shall caJi the 
name of the place Krossanes [Cape Cross] through all future 
time." 

After Thorwald's death and burial his men returned to Moun*. 
Hope, and in a year after to Greenland. The narrative of their 
discoveries and sufferings excited much attention, and Thorstein, 
a brother of the unfortunate adventurer, determined on sailing lo 
Cape Cross, and bringing back the body. This spot (situated, it is 
supposed, in Massachusetts Bay) he never reached ; and, indeed, 
escaped total shipwreck only by being driven back to the coast of 
Greenland. 

In 1006, a new impulse was given to maritime enterprise, among 
the Northmen, by the arrival, at Ericsfiord, of two ships carrying 
Thorfinn, a wealthy and influential person of royal descent, and 
Snorre Thorbrandson, also a distinguished person. Eric and Thor- 
stein were now dead, and the two visitors seem to have been en- 
trusted with the management of affairs during the winter. Daring 
the festivities of Christmas, Thorfinn became enamoured with Gud- 
rida, widow of Thorstein, and soon after married her. Through her 
entreaties, he fitted out an expedition to visit Vinlana, consisting of 
three ships and a hundred and forty men. He sailed in 1007, 
accompanied by his wife, his companion, Snorre, and a number of 
other distinguished persons, male and female. 

After a prosperous voyage, during which Thorfinn coasted along 
the Continent for a number of miles, a landing was effected on an 
island which received the name of Straum Ey, (Stream Island.) So 
great was the number of birds at this place, that it was impossible 
to w^alk without crushing their nests. After passing the winter at 
this place, Thorhall, one of the leaders, was sent with eight men 
to search for Vinland ; but, meeting with westerly winds, they were 
driven across the Atlantic to Ireland, and made prisoners. Ignorant 
of their fate, Thorfinn set out with the remainder of the adventurers 
and reached their destination in safety. 

• The country was found to correspond to the descriptici. of it given 
by former navigators. Wild wheat covered the fields, and grapes 
the hills. The lake was easily found, near which the former settle- 
ment had been made, and here, after erecting additional dwellings, 
the company passed the winter. Numbers of the natives visited 
them in canoes, carrying on a system of barter extremely profitable 
to the Northmen. In a few months, this friendly mtercourse was 



ABANDONMENT OF THE COLONT. 



19 




THE NOBTHMBN TBADINQ WITH T H B INDIANS. 



interrupted, and skirmishes ensued, in which several of the settler? 
were killed. This event discouraged them, and they determined tc 
abandon all ideas of founding a permanent colony. Sailing to 
Straum Ey, there they passed the winter ; and at the opening of the 
following year (1011) returned to Greenland. During their three 
years' residence, the wife of Thorfinn presented him with a son — 
probably the first descendant of Europeans ever born in America. 
He afterwards became a person of great distinction, and his c^'^scend- 
ants, traced by undoubted genealogy down to the present time, have 
included seme of the most distinguished persons of Northern Europe. 
Members of every profession, law, politics, letters, and the church, 
have been proud to trace their lineage to him ; and, among these, 
we hav<» in our century a Bishop of Iceland, Chief Justice Steven- 
son, of the same country, three professors m the Copenhagen Uni 
versity, and the great sculptor Bertel Thorwaldsen. 

Straum Ey is supposed by the Danish historians to be Martha's 
Vineyard, and Straum-fiord, the body of water named by Thorfinn, 
's said to be Buzzard's Bay. 



20 



DISCOVERIES OF THE NORTHMEN. 



In the same year that Thorfinn's colony was abandoned, (1011,) a 
female, named Freydisa, who had been with him, visited America 
in one ship, with a number of men and women, for the purpose of 
forming a settlement. Her object seems to have been defeated by 
dissensions among her followers. Some years after, (1026,) an Ice- 
lander, named Gudleif, while sailing for Dublin, was driven out of 
his course, and landed, as is supposed, in America. Being carried 
by his captors into the interior, they met an old man, who, after ad- 
dressing them in their own language, and inquiring after several 
Icelanders, presented them with a sword, requesting that it might he 
carried to one Thurida, a sister to Snorre Gode, with a word fo. 
her son. He is supposed to have been the bard Biorne, formerly a 
lover of that lady, and of whom nothing had been heard since 998. 

All idea of forming a permanent settlement in Vinland was now 
abandoned by the Northmen ; and, in their subsequent wars with 
England and France, the very remembrance of their discoveries was 
obUierated. It was reserved for the power of one master-mind to 
unite the Old and New Worlds, and to open the path to glory in the 
western wilds, brighter and nobler than the nations of the East. 





CHAPTER n. 

DISCOVERY OF COLUMBUS. 

HE history of the world does not aiTord 
an epoch more important to mankind 
than the discovery of America by Co- 
lumbus, in 1492. It formed, as is well 
known, an era that gave a new and 
more adventurous direction to the ambi- 
tion of European nations ; and while 
the consequent passion of enterprise 
sent bold spirits to the vast regions of 
the newly-found world, — and simulta- 
neously, by an almost equally great discovery, — that of sailing round 
A-frica to the Eastern Indies, — fresh explorations enriched the sci- 
3nces, — and, from that period, geography, astronomy, and naviga- 
tion became more practically and more usefully known. 

A most remarkable coincidence of events distinguishes the period" 

2] 




22 



DISCOVEIIY OF COLUMBUS. 



which followed the application of the magnet to the mariner's com 
pass, and the age which immediately commenced after the discovery 
of America and of the East Indies by sea. During this epoch, 
gunpowder and the art of printing were both invented ; ancient 
jearning, the arts and sciences, were revived ; a powerful and sue- 
cessful resistance to the papal authority was declared ; and the 
balance of power among princes became a leading policy in Europe. 

To Portugal and to her sovereign, King John I., is due the honour 
of being the first nation and prince in Europe to undertake great 
discoveries. Some adventurers from Spain fell in previously with 
the Canaries ; but this discovery was not considered a national enter- 
prise ; although the pope, in his assumed divine right to all the 
countries in the world, granted, in perpetuity, these Fortunate 
Islands, as they were called, wiih their infidel inhabitants as slaves, 
to Louis de la Cerda, of the royal family of Castile, who transferred 
them afterwards to a Norman baron. 

In the year 1412, John I., King of Portugal, commenced those 
voyages along the coasts of Africa, directed by his son, Prince 
Henry, which, in 1419, discovered Madeira, and, in 1433, extended 
so far south as to double Cape Boyador, and to enter the dreaded 
torrid zone. Before the death of Prince Henry, in 1463, the Azores 
and Cape de Yerd Islands were discovered by the Portuguese. 
From this period until the accession of John II., the nephew of 
Prince Henry, in 1481, the spirit of maritime discovery languished 
in Portugal, although a trade with the previously found countries 
was carried on without interruption. In 1484, John II. fitted out a 
powerful fleet, and declared himself the patron of navigation and 
discovery. It was in his service that Columbus completed that 
knowledge and acquired that distinction which prepared him for 
engaging in the voyages that render his name immortal. The Por- 
tuguese, after advancing south and forming settlements along the 
coast of Africa, reached the Cape of Good H ipe ; and a voyage 
round it was accomplished by Vasco de Gama, in the year 1497, 
five years after the discovery of America by Columbus. 

The mind of this extraordinary man had, from an early period, 
been occupied in preparing the design of the sublime enterprise that 
was destined to extend the limits to which ignorance and supersti- 
tion had confined the boundaries of the earth. He, as a dutiful citi- 
;^en, made his first proposal to sail westward to the Indies to Genoa. 
His offer was rejected is that of a visionary adventurer. He fei* 



PERSE VTERANCE UNDER DISCOURAGEMENT. 23 

the consolation arising from having discharged a patriotic obligation, 
but was mortified, but not disheartened, that his native country 
should have derided a project, which he foresaw would extend fame 
to the nation under whose auspices it should be undertaken. 

He was received favourably by John II. of Portugal, where the 
intelligence, and nautical skill, and boldness of Columbus were well 
known, and where he had married the daughter of Perestreilo, the 
discoverer of Madeira. But Ortis, the Bishop of Ceuta, not only 
thwarted his views and derided them as chimerical, but meanly at- 
tempted to deprive him of the honour by sending, in the direction 
proposed by Columbus, a vessel under a Portuguese pilot, in order 
to attempt and secure the glory of the discovery. The pilot had 
neither the genius nor the fortitude which are necessary to accom- 
plish bold enterprises. He consequently failed in the treacherous 
attempt. 

Columbus apphed, soon afterwards, to the government of France 
But neither the pr-nce nor the people had, at that period, been ani 

mated by the spirit of maritime dip 
covery. The chivalrous and gene- 
rous Francis I. had not ascended the 
throne ; and it was destined that the 
most brilliant project ever made, was 
rejected : — a project which finally 
succeeded under the patronage of a 
royal family which became, in con- 
sequence, the most powerful rivaj 
that ever mortified the predecessors 
of the House of Bourbon. 

Columbus then sent his brother 
Bartholomew to the court of Henry VII. of England. That distrust- 
ful prince, after one bold and successful attempt to obtain the crown, 
never encouraged great, if in his mind the least hazardous or doubt- 
ful, enterprises. He, however, by slight but not conclusive pro- 
mises, detained Bartholomew in England for six years ; and the 
latter finally arranged with the king for the employment of his bro 
ther Christopher in the proposed voyage of discovery. 

In the mean time, Columbus, disgusted with the meanness and 
exasperated by the treachery of Ortis, proceeded with his charts 
nd proposals to the court of Ferdinand and Isabella. For eight 
years he exercised his address, his patience, his interest, and his 




24 



DISCOVERY OF COLUMBUS. 




HENRY VII. 



abilities at this court, so remarkable then and long after for the tardi" 
no«s of its decisions. It is a trite remark, that projectors are enthu- 
siasts. It is fortunate that this accusation is true as regards the 
projectors of arduous undertakings; otherwise, the spirit and tho 
health of Columbus would have been subdued before he accom- 
plished his great mission. He had to endure the most fatiguing 
delays, and to hear pronounced against him presumptuous and in- 
sulting judgments by the ignorant and by the bigoted. To the 
honour of Isabella and her sex, and at her own expense, we are 
bound to attribute, in justice, the final success of Columbus: who, 
after displaying, during eight years, in his whole character and con- 
duct, an assiduity, a firmness and resolve of mind, never sufficiently 
to be applauded and imitated, sailed from Cadiz on the 3d of August, 
1492, on the most daring enterprise ever undertaken by man. 

He proceeded on this voyage without any chart to guide him, — 
with no acquaintance with the currents, the winds, or climates of 
unknown seas and lands, — and in ignorance of the magnetic varia 
tion. His own genius and instinctive judgment, — his confidence m 



DISCOVERY OF SAN SALVADOR. 



25 




THB SAILING OF COLUMBUS. 



the spherical system of the world, although the law of gravity was 
undiscovered, — his knowledge of the human heart, — and his address 
in commanding and winning those placed under his authority, en- 
abled him to prevail over a crew which at length became impatient, 
and to advance, regardless of imaginary as well as real dangers, 
until he discovered the island of San Salvador, on October 12, 1492. 

— ^ COLUMBUS, on his 

first voyage, disco- 
vered San Salvador, 
Hayti, and Cuba. 
He opened a friend- 
ly intercourse with 
the inhabitants ; ob- 
tained permission to 
build a fort at a place 
which he called Na- 
v^idad, on the north 
side of Hayti, where 
he left a colony of thirty men, with various stores. He then re- 
turned towards Europe with gold, cotton, &c., and accompanied by 
some of the natives. He experienced a boisterous, dangerous, and 
ct dious passage. He put into the port of liisbon with his vessels 

4 (J 




S DISCOVERT OF COLUMBUS. 

crippled. John II. received him with honourable respect, althougl 
mortified at having lost for ever, by rejecting the offer formerly made 
by Columbus, the glory of discovering a world which was now to be 
assigned to Spain. Columbus proceeded to the court of Ferdinand 
and Isabella, where he was received with as much distinction as 
was consistent with the cold and formal etiquette of the royal house- 
hold of Spain. 

It is not within our present design to enter on the history of this 
memorable achievement. The voyages of Columbus have often 
been, and especially by a distinguished American, well narrated. 

The merit of discovering the Continent of the New World was 
attempted to be denied to Columbus ; and so far with success, that 
an able, unprincipled adventurer, with whom Fonseca, an unfor- 
giving bishop, conspired, obtained by forgery and mis-statements 
the credit, for some time, of being the original discoverer, and had, 
in consequence, his name given to all the vast regions of the West. 

Columbus reached the Continent of America, in August, 1498 ; 
whereas Alonzo Ojeda (one of the former companions of Columbus) 
&nd Amerigo Vespucci did not sail on their first voyage from Cadiz, 
until the 20th of May, 1499. Amerigo made skilful use of the ad- 
miral's maps and charts, which the Bishop of Burgos put, from 
hatred to Columbus, into his hands; and to whom the bishop gave 
rIso clandestine licenses, in contravention of the authority held by 
Columbus from Ferdinand and Isrbella. 



B A. L B O A. 



CHAPTER III. 



SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 




|HE passion for discovering unkn ,wu 
countries, inspired by the success of 
the projects which the great mind if 
Columbus conceived and planned, and 
which his persevering character ac- 
complished, became soon the mania of 
the age. 

The principal man among the ad- 
venturers of that period was not Ame- 
rigo Vespucci, but Vincent Torres de 
Pinzon, who commanded one of the ships during the first voyage of 
Columbur. He was an able seaman, of liberal education, great 
courage, and of such ample fortune as to enable him to fit out four 



23 



SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 



itout ships at his own expense, with which he sailed, in January, 
1500, on a voyage of discovery. He was the first Spanish subject 
who crossed the equinoctial hne, and discovered the country of 
Santa Cruz, or the Holy Cross, and the river Maranon, or Amazon, 
in Brazil. He did not succeed in persuading the natives to trade 
with him. He returned north to the river Orinoco, which was dis- 
covered previously by Columbus. He soon after encountered a 
great storm, lost two of his ships before he reached Hayti, and finally 
arrived safely in Spain. 

In 1501, Roderic de Bastidas fitted out, at his own expense, two 
ships ; and, sailing from Cadiz, he discovered the country since then 
called Carthagena, pnd Magdalenna, and about a hundred leagues 
more of the coast of America than was known to Columbus. He 
opened an intercourse with the natives, brought some of them away, 
and proceeded to Hayti. So jealous were the Spaniards of each 
other, that Bastidas was imprisoned for the success of his enter- 
prise. 

St. Juan de Porto Rico, called Borriquen by the natives, was dis- 
covered by fyolumbus, in 1493, but neglected until 1509, when Juan 
Ponce de Leon, an enterprising, ambitious, and tyrannical nobleman, 
was informed that gold was abundant in that island. He crossed 
over from Hayti, and was received kindly by the principal cacique 
and by the natives ; who showed him the streams which carried 
down great quantities of gold with the sands and washings from the 
mountains. On returning to Hayti, he managed to obtain a commis- 
sion from Spain for conquering Porto Rico ; and was, on landing, 
received by the natives, who behoved the Spaniards to be immortal 
ur they would, from their superior numbers, and with their poisoned 
arrows, as was their manner of defending themselves against the 
Caribbeans, probably, on the attempt of Ponce de Leon to subdue 
them, have driven back the Spaniards with great loss of life. The 
natives believed the Spaniards invulnerable, and they submitted 
to labour and to slavery, until a young Spaniard, on being carried 
across the ford of a river, on the shoulders of a native of more than 
usual boldness, was thrown off by the latter who, wnth the assistance 
of other natives, kept the Spaniard under water until he was 
drowned. They then dragged him ashore, and, doubting whether 
he w^as dead, the Indians cried out, asking pardon for the accident, 
during three days, until the body became so putrid as to remove all 
thei' doubts. The natives being now convinced that the Spaniards 



FRANCIS PIZARRO. 



29 



could le killed, rose upon, and slaughtered more than a hundred 
of their oppressors. Ponce de Leon finally succeeded in reducino; 
the whole island to his authority, and the natives to slavery in the 
mines ; in which, and under other cruellies, they became extinct in 
a short period. 

Diego Velasquez sailed from Hayti, in November, 1511, to con- 
quer Cuba, which he accomplished, after committing the most hor- 
rible atrocities. 

Attempts were made, at this period, to conquer and settle on the 
coast of Carthagena and Darien. 

In 1509, John de Esquibel was sent by Diego Columbus from St. 
Domingo to form the first settlement in Jamaica, to which Alonzo de 
Ojeda laid a claim, and threatened to hang Esquibel. 

During the following year, Ojeda and John de la Cosas, who had 
received a license to capture and ti.ke possession of Veragua, Car- 
thagena, and other western countries, sailed from St. Domingo, 
landed on the Continent, and had several conflicts with the natives 
who were a bolder and more advanced race than the aborigines of 
Hayti. In one attack, seventy Spaniards were killed, and the re- 
mainder wounded with poisoned arrows. Ojeda and Cosas were 
saved by the arrival of another adventurer, Nicuessa, with four ships. 
The latter attacked the natives, burnt their town, in which they 
ound a large store of gold, and taking a number of prisoners, sent 

em as slaves to work in the mines of Hayti. Among the com- 
manders of these vessels was Francis Pizarro, whom Ojeda left at 
St. Sebastian, the place where he fixed upon for a settlement. The 
latter entered into an agreement with an outlaw, or pirate, to take 
him in his vessel to St. Domingo. The pirate's vessel was wrecked 
on the coast of Cuba, from whence they escaj^ed to Jamaica in a 
canoe. The pirate was there apprehended and hanged. Pizarro 
was obliged to leave St. Sebastian, and escaped with a few men to 
Carthagena, — where Enciso, with two ships, arrived from St. Do- 
nirngo. Pizarro and Enciso then proceeded to St. Sebastian, where 
they were shipwrecked, and, on landing, found the place entirely 
destroyed by the natives. They saved, from the wrecks, provisions, 
arms, and various articles, and proceeded to re-establish themselves 
at St. Sebastian, but they were reduced to great extremities by the 
attacks of the natives, and by the scanty supp'y of tood. 

One of the most remarkable men among the explorers of America 
accompanied this expedition. This persun was Vasquez Nunez de 



SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 




P 1 Z A R BO. 



Balboa,'a man of good family, who had formerly sailed with Bas 
iidas on his voyage of discovery. He had obtained a settlement at 
Hayti, but having been accused of some excesses, for which he was 
io have been executed ; he escaped by being concealed on board 
Enciso's ship in a bread cask. He ventured after a day to make his 
appearance. Enciso was enraged, as he had been warned not to 
take any one but those on his muster-roil, from Hayti ; but the prin- 
cipal persons on board interceded for Nunez, and he was conse- 
quently protected. He was afterwards almost the only person at 
St. Sebastian who had not absolutely given himself up to de- 
spair. Enciso was rallied and encouraged by Nunez, by whose 
energy the stranded vessels were at last got afloat, and they sailed, 
according to the advice of Nunez, to where he had seen a town, 
when he had made the voyage with Bastidas. They, accordingly, 
steered fo.r th-e river Darien, and found the place and country such 
as both were described by Nunez. They marched against thf 
cacique and his people, attacked and piH them to flight, — found ii 



VASQUEZ NUNEZ DE BALBOA. 



31 




BALBOA DISCOVERINQ TH2 P A C T F I OCEAN 



tiie town, which was immediately deserted, abundance of provisions- 
also cotton spun and unspun. household goods of various kinds, and 
more than the value of $10,000 in gold plates. The success of this 
adventure being justly attributed to Nunez, his reputation became 
great. He deprived Enciso, who bore him no goodwill from the 
first, of all authority; gained, by his boldness, the confidence of 
the Spaniards, and founded the settlement of St. Maria. Nune': 
estabhshed his authority and retained his power in Darien, and the 
country then called Castell d'Oro, by gaining over, or defeating, the 
chiefs of the country, by buying, with the gold he sent to St. Do- 
mingo, the authorities there over to his interest, and by his superior 
fertihty of resources under the most difficult circumstances. 

In the middle of September, 1513, having been informed of rich 
ind vast regions to the south-west ; stretching along a great ocean 
which was not far distant, he departed from St. Maria, accompanied 
by the afterwards celebrated Francis Pizarro, on an expedition, in 

which, after some desperate conflicts with the natives, he advanced so 
3 



B2 SPANISH DISCO^'^RIES AXD CONQUESTS. 

far, on the 25th of September, as to behold, lying broad in view 
the jrreai Pacific Ocean. 

Nunez possessed the manner and ability of making himself be- 
loved by his companions and followers. He was kind to the sick 
and the wounded, and shared the same fatigues and the same food 
as the humblest soldier. Before reaching the shores of the Pacific, 
he was opposed by Chiapes, the cacique of the country ; who, how 
ever, was soon routed, and several of the natives killed by fire-arms, oi 
torn by blood-hounds, those powerful auxiliaries of the Spanish con- 
querors in America. Nunez then made peace with them, — exchang- 
ing trinkets of little cost for gold to the value ot four thousand 
pieces. Pizarro was then sent in advance to view the coast, and 
two others proceeded, on different routes, to find the nearest way 
from the heights to the sea. Nunez followed as soon as he could 
bring up the sick and wounded. On reaching he shore, he walked, 
with his armour on, into the sea, until the water reached his middle, 
and then performed solemnly the ceremony of taking possession in 
the name of the crown of Castile, of the ocean which he had disco- 
vered. 

The Indians provided him with canoes; and, contrary to the ad- 
vice of the natives, he proceeded with about eighty Spaniards, and 
Chiapes, the cacique, to cross a broad bay. Bad wealhei came on, 
and they barely escaped perishing on an island where several of 
their canoes were wrecked. On the following day they landed 
with great difficulty; being opposed by a cacique, whose people, 
however, were soon put to flight by the fire-arms and by the dogs 
of the Spaniards. Nunez soon brought this cacique to terms,, 
and, for a few trinkets, received a considerable weight of gold, and 
a considerable number of large pearls of great value. The dif- 
ferent caciques gave him the most flattering accounts of the vast 
countries which they described as extending to the south and south- 
west. 

Before attempting further discoveries, he considered it prudent to 
return from the Pacific, and arrived at Santa Maria about the end of 
January, 1513, with the gold and pearls he had collected, and which 
he distributed fairly among the soldiers, deducting one-fifth for the 
king. He immediately sent the king's share of gold and pearls and 
all his own to Spain by an agent. On arriving at Seville, this agent 
Rpp'ied first to the Bishop of Burgos, who was delighted at the sight 
of the gold and pearls. The biihop sent him to the king, and used 



PEDRO ARIAS d'AVILA. 




P 2 D B A ai A S 



al- his influence with Ferdinand, who entertained a strong aversion*'^ 
to Nunez de Balboa. 

The old king, Ferdinand, who, unlike his deceased consort, fsa^' 
bella, was always jealous of superior men, and especially of disco^ 
verers, did not on this occasion depart from his former base policy 
of supplanting the men who performed the most arduous undertak- 
ings, by the worst and most perfidious of his own creatures ; such 
as Ovanda and Bobadilla. The Bishop of Burgos had, previous to 
the arrival of the agent with treasures from Nunez, counselled the 
king to supersede him by one of the worst characters in Spain. 
Instead of confirming Nunez de Balboa in the government of the 
sonntries he discovered and annexed to the crown of Castile, Ferdi- 
nand appointed Pedro Arias d'Avila, or, as the Spanish writers, by 
contracting the first name, call him, Pedrarias, governor of Castell 
d'Oro. He was destitute of all the qualities which constitute a good 
man of great mind ; but haughty and ignorant, he was a master of 
the arts of oppression, violence and fraud. He left Spain in April, 
1514, with a fleet of fifteen ships, two thousand troops, a bishop, 
John de Quevedo, and numerous greedy and rapacious followers of 
noble birth ; among others, Enciso, the enemy of Nunez. On their 
iirrival at Santa Maria, they were received by Nunez with greai 

6 



84 



SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 



redpect. They found the latter inhabiting a small house, in simple 
attire, living- on the most frugal diet, and drinking no other liquid 
than water ; while he had, at the same time, a strong fort with foui 
hundred and fifty brave soldiers faithfully attached to him. That he 
was ambitious, and did severe things to obtain that power which he 
was never known to abuse, is admitted. His accounts and state- 
ments were clear, and he had annexed the country, between the 
Atlantic and the sea which he had discovered, to the crown of Spain. 
Pedrarias imprisoned this great man, and sent strong representations 
against him to Spain. 

There were, however, some honest men among those brought over 
by Pedrarias, who sent a true account of Nunez to the king; and 
the latter formally expressed his approbation of the conduct of the 
late governor, and appointed him lord-Jieutenant of the countries of 
the South Seas ; directing also that Pedrarias should act by the 
advice of his predecessor. 

On the king's letters arriving from Spain, they were suppressed 
by Pedrarias ; who, in the mean time, by his perfidy and cruel 
exactions, brought the whole native population into hostility and 
revolt against the Spaniards. The Bishop duevedo then interfered, 
Nunez was hberated, and, by his skill and demeanor, established 
tranquillity, and proceeded to the South Sea to build a town, which 
he in a short time accomplished, and was then recalled by Pedra- 
rias. To the astonishment and horror of all the Spaniards, Nunez 
was charged with treason by Pedrarias, and publicly beheaded, on 
the charge that he had invaded the domains of the crown, merely 
by cutting down, without the governor's license, the trees used in 
erecting the town which he built. 

His execution was declared a murder by the Royal Audienza of 
St. Domingo ; yet Pedrarias, whom the Bishop of Chiapa described 
as the most wicked monster who was ever sent to America, conti- 
nued for many years, by the king's will, to exercise his cruelty and 
injustice. 

Thus perished Nunez de Balboa, in 1517, at the age of forty-two 
years, for having served his king with more fidelity than any of the 
Spanish conquerors ; of whom, if we may except Cortez, he was 
tlie ablest ; and whose character stands far higher than any of those 
who added new territories to the dominions of Spain. 

Pedrarias, after the murder of Nunez, removed to Panama, where 
he erected a palace. In his hostilities and cruelties to the caciques 



CONQUEST OF NICARAGUA. 3t 

and the native tribes, he caused great destruction of life ; and so ill- 
judged and planned were his enterprises, that, in subduing one 
cacique, Uracca of the mountains, more Spanish lives were lost than 
during the whole conquest of Mexico by Cortes. 

The only important conquest made under Pedrarias, was by 
Francis Hernandez, of the territory of Nicaragua, to which the go 
vernor immediately repaired to take possession of for himself. 
Jealous of Hernandez, as he was of Nunez, he charged the former 
with a design to revolt ; which the latter, confident in his innocence, 
boldly denied. Pedrarias immediately ordered him to be executed ; 
power was to be upheld by the immediate death, according to the 
maxim of this tyrant, of conquerors who were suspected. For this 
murder, equally barbarous as that of Nunez, Pedrarias was not 
called to account. 



THB LANDINQ 07 O a T B 3. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 

HE portion of the New World earliest colonized by 
the Spaniards was the island of St. Domingo, Hayti, 
or Hispaniola, discovered by Columbus, in his first 
voyage, in the year 1492. For nearly twenty years, 
this island was the only colony of importance held 
by the Spaniards in the New World ; here alone did they occupy 
lands, build towns, and found a regular commonwealth. Cuba, 
although the second of the islands discovered by Columbus, remained 
long uncolonized ; indeed, it was not till the year ,1509, that it was 
circumnavigated and ascertained to be an island. At length, as 
we have already seen, it was conquered and colonized by Velas- 
quez. Ambitious of sharing the glory to be derived from the dis- 
covery of new countries, Velasquez fitted out one or two expe- 
ditions, which he despatched westward, to explore the seas in that 
direction. In one of these expeditions which set out in 1517, com- 
manded by a rich colonist called Cordova, the peninsula of Yuca- 
tan was discovered, and the existence of a large and rich country 

36 




EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO CORTES. 37 

called Culua or Mexico ascertained. Elated with this discovery, 
Velasquez fitted out another expedition under his nephew, Juan 
de Gr'jalva, who, leaving Cuba in April, 1518, spent five months 
in cruisingr along the newly discovered coast, and trafficking with 
the natives for gold trinkets and cotton cloths, very skilfully manu- 
factured. The result of this expedition was the importation to Cuba 
of gold and jewels to the amount of twenty thousand pesos, or up- 
wards of £50,000. 

Delighted with bis success, Velasquez wrote home to Spain an- 
nouncing his discovery, and petitioning for authority from the king 
to conquer and colonize the country which his subordinates, Cordova 
and Grijalva, had discovered. Without waiting, however, for a 
reply to his petition, he commenced fitting out a much larger squad- 
ron th'j either of the two f )rmer ; and this he placed under the 
command of Hernando Cortes, a respectable Spanish hidalgo, or 
gentleman, residing in the island, and who was at this time thirty 
years of age. 

Cortes proceeded with the greatest activity in making his prepa- 
rations. " Borrowing money for the purpose," says Bernal Diaz, the 
gossiping chronicler of the Conquest, "he caused to be made a 
standard of gold and velvet, with the royal arms and a cross embroi- 
dered thereon, and a Latin motto, the meaning of which was, 'Bro- 
thers, follow this holy cross with true faith, for under it we shall con- 
quer.' It was proclaimed by beat of drum and sound of trumpet, 
that all such as entered the service in the present expedition should 
have their shares of what gold was obtained, and grants of land as 
soon as the conquest was effected. The proclamation was no sooner 
made than, by general inclination as well as the private influence of 
Cortes, volunteers offered themselves everywhere. Nothing was to 
be seen or spoken of but selling lands to purchase arms and horses, 
quilting coats of mail, making bread, and salting pork for sea-store. 
Above three hundred of us assembled in the town of St. Jago." 
These preparations were likely to be interrupted. Velasquez, rumi- 
nating the probable consequences of the expedition, had begun to 
repent of having appointed Cortes to the command, and was secretly 
plotting his removal. Cortes, perceiving these symptoms, deter- 
mined to outwit his patron. Accordingly, on the night of the 18th 
of November, 1518— having warned all the captains, masters, pilots, 
and soldiers, to be on board, and having shipped all the stores thai 
had been collected — Cortes set sail from the port of St. Jago, with 

D 



38 THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 

out announcing his intention to Velasquez, resolving to stop at sonm 
of the more westerly ports of the island for the purpose of complet- 
ing his preparations, where he would be beyond the reach of the 
g-overnor. Nothing could exceed the rage of Velasquez at the sud- 
den departure of Cortes. He wrote to the commandants of two towns 
at which he learned that the fleet had put in for recruits and provi- 
sions, to seize Cortes, and send him back ; but such was the popu- 
larity of Cortes, that both were afraid to make the attempt. 

At last all was ready, and Cortes finally set sail from Cuba on the 
18th of February, 1519. The expedition, which consisted of eleven 
vessels, most of them small, and without decks, met with no disaster 
at sea, but arrived safely at the island of Cozumel, off the coast of 
Vucatan, after a few days' sail. Here Cortes landed to review his 
troops. They consisted of five hundred and fifty-three soldiers, not 
including the mariners, who amounted to a hundred and ten. They 
possessed sixteen horses, some of them not very serviceable, ten brass 
field-pieces, four smaller pieces, called falconets, and thirty-two 
cross-bows ; the majority of the soldiers being armed with ordinary 
steel weapons. Attending on the army were about two hundred 
Cuba Indians, and some Indian women. And as religion in those 
days sanctioned military conquest, there were in addition two cler 
gymen — Juan Diaz and Bartholomew de Olmedo. 

For nine or ten days, the Spaniards remained at Cozumel, making 
acquaintance with the natives, who were very friendly. Here Cortes, 
whose zeal for the Catholic relio-ion was one of the strongest of his 
feelings, made it one of his first concerns to argue with the natives, 
through an interpreter, on the point of their rehgion. He even 
went so far as to demolish their idols before their eyes, and erect an 
altar to the Virgin on the spot where they had stood. The natives 
were horror-struck, and seemed at first ready to fall upon the Spa- 
niards, but at length they acquiesced. 

While at Cozumel, Cortes had the good fortune to pick up a 
Spaniard, who, having been wrecked in his passage from Darien to 
Hispaniola in the year 1511, had for seven years been detained as a 
slave among the Indians of Yucatan. The name of this poor man 
was Jeromino de Aguilar ; he had been educated for the church; 
and as he could speak the language of Yucatan, his services as an 
interpreter were hkely to be very valuable. On the 4th of March, 
1519, the fleet, consisting of eleven vessels, commanded respectively 
by Cortes, Pedro de Alvarado, Alonzo Puerto Carrero, Francisco da 



CDAKACTER OF HERNANDO CORTES. 



39 




OLU B Da 



Montejo, Christoval de Olid, Diego de Ordaz, Velasquez de Leon, 
Juan de Escalante, Francisco de Moria, Escobar, and Gines Nortes, 
Bet sail from Cozumel, and on the 13th it anchored at the mouth of 
the river Tobasco or Grijalva, flowing into the south of the Bay of 
Campeachy. 

The expedition had now reached the scene of active operations ; 
it had arrived on the coast of the American continent. Cortes does 
not appear to have been naturally a bloodily disposed man. He 
was only what a perverted education and the vices of his time had 
made him — a man full of mighty notions of the Spanish authority ; 
of its right to take, by foul or fair means, any country it liked ; and 
not without an excuse from religion to rob and kill the unfortunate 
natives who dared to defend their territories. 

We have now, therefore, to record the beginning of a most unjust 
and merciless war rf aggression. As Cortes, with his followers, sailed 
up the river as far as Tabasco, he everywhere observed the natives 
preparing to repel his attack, and at length he was brought into col- 
jaion with them— of course, overpowering them by force of arms. 



40 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXIOO. 



with immense slaughter. On reaching Tabasco, his soldiers fough* 
their way through dense masses of Indians, who discharged among 
them perfect clouds of arrows and stones. Pushing through the 
streets, which were lined with houses, some of mud, and some of 
stone, the victors reached a large open square in the centre, where 
temples of large size were erected. Here the troops were drawn 
up ; and Cortes, advancing to a large ceiba tree, which grew in the 
middle, gave it three slashes with his sword, and took possession of 
the city and country in the name of his royal master, Don Carlos, 
King of Castile. 

Next day, another great battle was fought between the Spaniards 
and the Tabascans on the plain of Ceutla, a few miles distant from 
the city. For an hour, the Spanish fought in the midst of an ocean 
of enemies, battling on all sides, beating one wave back only that 
another might advance — a little islet encircled by the savage break- 
ers. At length, with the assistance of their horse — a terrible sight 
to the Indians — the Spaniards were victorious. The spirit of the 
Tabascans was now completely subdued. 

^= 1 HEIR chiefs came to the camp of Cortes with 

fac?s and gestures expressive of contrition, 
and brought him presents of fowls, fish, 
maize, and numerous gold toys representing 
many kinds of animals in miniature. For 
the horses, they brought a feast of turkeys 
and roses ! They also gave Cortes twenty 
Indian girls to attend the army. To his 
inquiries respecting the country whence they obtained the gold, they 
replied by repetitions of the words "Culua" and "Mexico," and 
pointing to the west. Having obtained all the information the Ta- 
bascans could give him, Cortes resolved to proceed on his voyage. 
Accordingly, after a solemn mass, which the Indians attended, the 
armament left Tabasco, and, after a short sail, arrived off the coast 
of St. Juan de UUoa, the site of the modern Vera Cruz. It was on 
Holy Thursday, (April 20,) in the year 1519, that they arrived at 
the port of St. Juan de Ulloa, the extreme eastern province of the 
Mexican dominions, properly so called. The royal flag was floating 
from the mast of Cortes's ship. The Spaniards could see the beach 
crowded with natives, who had come down to gaze at the strange 
"water-houses," of which they had formerly seen specimens. At 
length, a light pirogue filled with natives, some of them evidentl> 




DONNA MAKINA. 



41 



men of rank, pushed off from the shore and steered for the ship of 
Cortes. The Indians went on board without any symptoms of fear, and, 
what was more striking, with an air of ease and perfect good-breed- 
ing. They spoke a different language from that of the inhabitants 
of CozumeJ or the Tabascans — a language, too, which Aguilar did not 
understand. Fortunately, one of the twenty Indian girls presented 
by the Tabascans to the Spaniards, was a Mexican by birth. This 
girl, whose Spanish name of Donna Marina is imperishably associ- 
ated with the history of the Conquest of Mexico, was the daughter 
of a chief, but, by a singular course of events, had become a slave 
in Tabasco. She had already attracted attention by her beauty, 
sweetness, and gentleness, and she had been mentioned to Cortes. 
Her services now became valuable. The Mexican was her native 
language; but, by her residence in Tabasco, she had acquired the 
Tabascan, which language was also familiar to Aguilar. Interpret- 
ing, therefore, what the Mexicans said into Tabascan to Aguilar, 
AguiJar, in turn, interpreted the Tabascan into Spanish; and thus, 
though somewhat circuitously, Cortes could hold communication 
with his visitors. 

tors who came on board the 
ship of Cortes, informed 
him that they were in- 
structed by the governor of 
the province to ask what 
he wanted on their coasts, 
and to promise that what- 
ever he required should be 
supplied. Cones replied 
that his object was to make the acquaintance of the people of those 
countries, and that he would do them no injury. He then presented 
them with some beads of cut glass, and after an entertainment of 
wine, they took their departure, promising that Teuthlille, the go- 
vernor of the province under their great emperor, should visit him 
the next day. 

Next day, Friday, the 21st of April, 1519, Cortes landed with his 
troops, and had an interview with Teuthlille, who received the 
visitors with suspicion ; and this feeling was not lessened by the 
parade of mounted dragoons and firing of guns, with which the 
Spanish commander thought fit to astonish him and the other na- 
ves. Sketches were taken of the appearance of the strangers, in 




12 



THE CONQUEST OP MEXICO. 




INDIAN nUT IN TH3 TlXRRA. nALIiNTi. 



order to be sent to Montezuma, the king of the country, who was 
likewise to be informed that the white men, who had arrived on his 
coast, desired to be allowed to come and see him in his capital. 

Here we pause to present a short account of the Mex">^n empire, 
in which Cortes had landed; also of the character and government of 
this monarch, Montezuma, whom the Spaniards expected soon to be 
permitted to visit. 

If a traveller, landing on that part of the coast of the Mexican 
gulf where Cortes and his Spaniards landed three hundred and 
- thirty years ago, were to proceed westward, across the Continent, he 
would pass successively through three regions or climates. First, 
he would pass through the tierra calienfe, or hot region, distinguished 
by all the features of the tropics — their luxuriant vegetation, theii 
occasional sandy deserts, and their unhealthiness at particular sea- 
sons. After sixty miles of travel through this tierra caliente, he 
would enter the tierra templada, or temperate region, where the 
products of the soil are such as belong to the most genial European 
countries. Ascending through it, the traveller at last leaves wheat- 
fields beneath him, and plunges into forests of pine, indicating his 



THE MEXICANS — THEIR ORIGIN AND CIVILIZATION. 43 




VOLOANIO MOUNTAINS, AS 3KBN FROM TACUBAYA. 



entrance into the tierrafria, or cold region, where the sleety blast? 
from the mountains penetrate the very bones. This tierra fria con- 
stitutes the summits of part of the great mountain range of thv 
Andes, which traverses the whole American continent. Fortu 
nately, however, at this point the Andes do not attain their greatest 
elevation. Instead of rising, as in some other parts of their range, 
in a huge perpendicular wall or ridge, they here flatten and widen 
out, so as to constitute a vast plateau, or table-land, six or seven 
thousand feet above the level of the sea. On this immense sheet of 
table-land, stretching for hundreds of miles, the inhabitants, though 
living within the tropics, enjoy a climate equal to that of the south 
of Italy ; while their proximity to the extremes both of heat and 
cold, enables them to procure, without much labour, the luxuries of 
many lands. Across the table-land there stretches, from east to west, 
a chain of volcanic peaks, some of which are of immense height, 
and covered perpetually with snow. 

This table-land was called, by the ancient Mexicans, the plain 
of Anahuac. Near its centre is a valley of an oval form, about 



44 



THE CONQUEST OP MEXICO. 



two hundred miles in circumference, surrounded by a lampart 
of porphyritic rock, and overspread for about a tenth part of 
its surface by five distinct lakes or sheets of water. This is the 
celebrated Valley of Mexico — called a valley only by comparison 
with the mountains which surround it, for it is seven thousand feet 
above the level of the sea. Round the margins of the five lakes 
once stood numerous cities, the relics of which are yet visible ; and 
on an islet in the middle of the largest lake, stood the great city of 
Mexico, or Tenochtitlan, the capital of the empire which the Span- 
iards were now invading, and the residence of the Mexican emperor, 
Montezuma. 

The origin of the Mexicans is a question of great obscurity — a 
part of the more extensive question of the manner in which Ame- 
rica was peopled. According to Mr. Prescott, the latest and one of 
the best authorities on the subject, the plains of Anahuac were over- 
run, previous to the discovery of America, by several successive 
races from the north-west of the Continent where it approaches Asia. 
Thus, in the thirteenth century, the great table-land of Central Ame- 
rica was inhabited by a number of races and sub- races, all originally 
of the same stocl^ but differing from each other greatly in characte 
and degree of civilization, and engaged in mutual hostilities. The 
cities of these different races were scattered over the plateau, prin- 
cipally in the neighbourhood of the five lakes. Tezcuco, on the 
eastern bank of the greatest of the lakes, was the capital of the Acol 
huans ; and the Tenochtitlan, or Mexico, founded in 1325, on an 
island in the same lake, was the capital of the Aztecs. 

In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the dominant race in 
the plains of Anahuac was the Acol huans, or Tezcucans, repre- 
sented as a people of mild and polished manners, skilled in the ele- 
gant arts, and possessing literary habits and tastes — the Athenians, 
if we may so call them, of the New World. The most celebrated 
of th'^ Tezcucan sovereigns was Nezahualcoyotl, who reigned early 
in the fifteenth century. By this prince a revolution was effected 
in the political state of the valley of Anahuac. He procured the 
formation of a confederacy between Tezcuco and the two neighbour- 
ing friendly cities of Mexico and Tlacopan, by which they bound 
themselves severally to assist each other when attacked, and to carry 
on wars conjointly. In this strange alliance, Tezcuco was the prin- 
cipal member, as being confessedly the most powerful state; Mexico 
stood next ; and lastly, Tlacopan, as being inferior to the other two 



THE MEXICANS— THEIR ORIGIN AND CIVILIZATION. 45 



Nezahualcoyoti died in 1470, and was succeeded on the Tezcucan 
throne by his son Nezahualpilli. During his reign the Tezcucans 
fell from their position as the first member of the triple confederacy 
which his father had formed, and g^ve place to the Aztecs or Mexi- 
cans. These Aztecs had been gradually growing in consequence 
since their first arrival in the valley. Decidedly inferior to the Tez- 
cucans in culture, and professing a much more bloody and impure 
worship, they excelled them in certain qualities, and possessed, on 
the whole, a firmer and more compact character. If the Tezcucans 
were the Greeks, the Aztecs were the Romans of the New World. 
Under a series of able princes they had increased in importance, till 
now, in the reign of Nezahualpilli, they were the rivals of their 
allies, the Tezcucans, for the sovereignty of Anahuac. 

In the year 1502, a vacancy occurred in the throne of Tenoch- 
titian, or Mexico. The eledion fell on Montezuma II., the nephew 
of the deceased monarch, a young man who had already distin- 
guished himself as a soldier and a priest or sage, and who was noted 
as his name — Montezuma (sorrowful man) — implied, for a certain 
gravity and sad severity of manner. The first years of Montezu- 
ma's reign were spent in war. Carrying his victorious arms as far 
as Nicaragua and Honduras in the south, and to the shores of the 
Mexican gulf in the east, he extended the sovereignty of the triple 
confederacy, of which he was a member, over an immense extent of 
territory. Distant provinces he compelled to pay him tribute ; and 
the wealth of Anahuac flowed from all directions towards the Valley 
ot Mexico. Haughty and severe in his disposition, and magnificent 
in his tastes, he ruled like an Oriental despot over the provinces 
which he had conquered ; and the least attempt at rebellion was 
liearfully punished, captives being dragged in hundreds to the capital 
to be slaughtered on the stone of human sacrifice in the great war 
temple.* Nor did Montezuma's own natural-born subjects stand 
less in dread of him. Wise, liberal, and even generous in his 
government, his inflexible and relentless justice, and his lordly 
notions of his own dignity, made him an object less of affection than 
of awe and reverence. In his presence, his nobles spoke in whis- 
pers ; in his palace he was served with a slavish homage ; and 
when he appeared in pubhc, his subjects veiled their faces as un- 

• Besides the ordinary sacrifice in which the victim's heart was cut out and lai ) 
©u the ahar, there was a gladiatorial sacrifice, where the victun contended with a 
Miccession of warriors before being ofiered up. 



16 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 




GLADIATORIAL SACBIFICB 



worthy to gaze upon his person. The death of Nezahualpilli, in 
1516, made him absolute sovereign in Anahuac. On the death of 
that king, two of his sons, Cacama and IxtJilxochitl, contended for 
the throne of Tezcuco. Montezuma sided with Cacama ; and the 
dispute was at length ended by compromise between the two bro- 
thers, by which the kingdom was divided into two parts — Cacama 
obtaining the southern half with the city of Tezcuco, and Jxtlilxochit] 
the northern half. 

Thus, at the period of the arrival of the Spaniards, Montezuma 
was absolute sovereign of nearly the whole of that portion of Cen^ 
tral America which hes between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific 
Ocean — the kings of Tezcuco and Tlacopan being nominally his 
confederates and counsellors, according to the ancient treaty of alli- 
ance between the three states, but in reality his dependents. The 
spot where Cortes had landed was in one of the maritime provinces 
of Montezuma's dominion. 



MEXICAN TRADITION. 



47 



T is a singular but well-autlientu.ated 
fact, tiiat, when the Spaniards landed 
in America, a general expectation 
prevailed among the natives of the 
arrival of a mysterious race 3f white 
men from the East, who were to 
conquer the country. This was es- 
pecially the case in Mexico. There 
was a tradition among the Mexicans 
that, some ages before the arrival of 
the Spaniards, and while yet the Aztec empire was in its infancy, 
there appeared in Anahuac a divine personage called Quetzalcoatl. 
He was a man of benevolent aspect, tall in stature, with a white 
complexion, long dark hair, and a flowing beard ; and he came from 
the East. He resided in Anahuac for many years, teaching the 
Mexicans numerous arts and sciences, and reforming their manners; 
and under his care the country flourished and became happy. At 
length, some difference arose between him and the Mexicans, and 
they no longer paid respect to the words of the good Quetzalcoatl. 
He then announced to them that he was going to depart from their 
country. Proceeding eastward, delaying a little while at Cholula, a 
city which ever after was regarded as sacred, he arrived at the sea- 
shore. Embarking on board a httle skifl) made of serpents' skins, 
he pushed out to sea, and, as the Mexicans strained their eyes aftei 
him, he disappeared in the distance, going, as it seemed, to the East. 
Before he departed, however, he delivered a prophecy, that at some 
future time, people of his race, with white complexions hke his, 
would come from the East to conquer and possess the country. 

The tradition of Quetzalcoatl's prophecy was rife among the na- 
tives of Anahuac, when Cortes arrived, and it was with a kind of 
religious awe that Montezuma and his people heard of the arrival 
of the white men in their "water-houses." Cortes and his men 
constituted, as we have seen, this body. Teuthlille's messengers, 
announcing their arrival, had already reached Montezuma ; and he 
was now deliberating in what manner he should receive the stran- 
gers. In order to learn his decision, let us return to the Spaniards 
on the sea-coast. 

The Spaniards, suppHed by the natives with plenty of every 
thing which they required, were waiting the return of the messen 
!rs to Montezuma. After sfx days, they returned, accompanied by 
4 




48 



THE COIN-QUEST OF MEXICO 



IVuthlille. They bore with them a splendid present from Monte- 
zuma to the Spanish emperor. It consisted of loads of finely- 
wrought cotton, ornamented with featherwork ; and a miscellaneous 
rouection of jewels and articles of gold and silver, richly carved, 
of which the most attractive were two circular plates, as large a? 
carriage-wheels, one of gold, valued at more than fifty thousand 
pounds, and intended to represent the sun ; the other of silver, and 
representing the moon. As they gazed on the kingly present, the 
Spaniards could scarcely contain their raptures. The message 
which accompanied it, however, was less satisfactory. Montezuma 
was happy to hear of the existence of his brother, the King of Spain, 
and wished him to consider him as his friend ; he could not, how- 
ever, come to see the Spaniards, and it was too far for them to come 
and visit him. He, therefore, hoped they would depart, and carry 
his respects to his brother, their monarch. 

To this Cortes, thanking Montezuma for his present, replied, that 
he could not leave the country without being able to say to his king 
that he had seen Montezuma with his own eyes; and the ambassa- 
dors again departed, carrying a sorry present from Cortes to Monte- 
zuma. After another interval of six days they returned, with an- 
other gift, little inferior in value to the former, and informed Cortes 
that the great Montezuma had received his present with satisfaction, 
but that, as to the interview, he could not permit any more to be 
said on the subject. Cortes, though greatly mortified, thanked them 
politely, and returned to Montezuma a second message to the same 
effect as the former, but couched in more decided language. The 
Mexicans withdrew in distrust, and ceased to barter with the Spa- 
niards, or to bring them supplies. 

Meanwhile, difl^erences had been springing up among the Spa- 
niards themselves, the partisans of Velasquez insisting that they 
ought now to return to Cuba, and that it was folly to think of found- 
ing a settlement. Pretending to yield to the clamours of these per- 
sons, Cortes issued orders for embarkation on the following day 
Immediately the other party, consisting of the friends of Cortes, 
flocked to his tent, and implored him not to give up the enterprise 
which had been so successfully begun. This was precisely what 
Cortps wished. Accordingly, after some delay, he seemed to yield; 
and, revoking the order for embarkation, he announced his willing- 
ness to found a settlement in the name of the Spanish sovereign. 
Per hwith, the new city, although not a stone of it had yet been 



COKTES INVITED TO CEMPOALLA. 



49 



raised, and the site had alone been determined on, was named Villa 
Rica de la Vera Cruz— "The Rich Town of the True Cross." 
Magistrates were immediately appointed in the king's name ; the 
two captains, Puerto Carrero and Montejo, the latter a friend of 
Velasquez, being nominated alcaldes, and others to different offices. 
"Thus," says Mr. Prescott, "by a single stroke of the pen, the 
camp was transformed into a civil community." 

At the first sitting of the new magistracy, Cortes appeared before 
it, with his cap doffed, and formally resigned his commission from 
Velasquez into its hands. He then withdrew ; but after a short 
time was recalled, and informed that he had been unanimously ap- 
pointed by them, in the king's name, " Captain-general and Chief 
Justice of the colony." Thus, by a clever stroke of policy, had 
Cortes shaken off' all connection with Velasquez. He held his com- 
mand now directly from the king, and could be superseded only by 
royal authority. The friends of Velasquez were at first furious with 
rage ; but Cortes ai length soothed them into acquiescence. 

A little before the conclusion of these proceedings, an event of 
some consequence happened. This was the arrival in the Spanish 
camp of five Indians, differing in dress and language from the Mexi- 
cans. They informed Cortes that they were a deputation sent by 
the Cacique of Cempoalla, a city at a little distance on the sea-coast, 
the capital of the Totonacs, a nation which had been recently con- 
quered by Montezuma, and was now groaning under his yoke. 
They were sent by their cacique to beg a visit of the Spaniards to 
Cempoalla. A light instantly flashed upon the mind of Cortes. 
He saw that Montezuma's empire was not so firmly compacted as he 
had supposed, and that it might be possible to divide it against itself, 
and so overthrow it. He, therefore, dismissed the ambassadors 
kindly, and promised a speedy visit to Cempoalla. 

Accordingly, as soon as the disturbance which had arisen among 
his men was quelled, Cortes marched to Cempoalla, a city not rich, 
but prettily built, and containing a population, as it appeared, of about 
thirty thousand inhabitants. He was cordially received by the 
cacique, a large and very corpulent man. Remaining some time in 
Cempoalla and its neighbourhood, while the city of Villa Rica was 
being built, the Spaniards soon gained the reverence and good-wiL 
of the inhabitants, the Totonacs, who willingly submitted themselves 
to the dominion of the distant monarch Don Carlos, of whom the 
Spaniards told them. Here the Spaniards were horrified by the 

i E 



50 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 



symptoms of human sacrifice, which were perpetually visiblfc in the 
temples — the blood-stained walls, and the fragments of human flesh 
which lay about ; and, fired with religious enthusiasm, they resolved 
to put a stop to such practices by tearing down the idols. Cortes 
informed the cacique of his intention ; but although the announce- 
ment filled him with speechless dismay, no opposition was ofl^ered, 
and the idols were broken in pieces, and burnt before the eyes of 
the Totonacs, while the priests went about shrieking like dertons. 
"These priests," we are told, "were dressed in long black mantles, 
like sheets with hoods : their robes reached to their feet. Their 
long hair was matted together with clotted blood ; with some it 
reached to the waist, and with others to the feet : their ears were 
torn and cut, and they smelled horribly, as it were of sulphur and 
putrid flesh." 

The destruction of their idols did not alienate the Totonacs from 
the Spaniards ; on the contrary, it raised their opinion of them, inas- 
much as they saw the gods patient under the indignity. The inter- 
course of the two parties, therefore, continued ; and by his frequent 
conversations with the cacique, Cortes gained greater insight every 
day into the condition of Montezuma's empire. 

By this time, the town of Villa Rica had been nearly finished, 
and nothing remained to prevent the Spaniards from commencing 
their march into the interior. Before beginning it, however, Cortes 
deemed it advisable to send a report of his proceedings to Spain, to 
be laid before the king, knowing that Velasquez must have repre- 
sented his conduct in very disadvantageous terms to the home go- 
vernment. Accordingly, Cortes drew up one letter, and the magis- 
trates of the new colony another, detailing the whole of the inci- 
dents of the expedition down to the foundation of Villa Rica, and 
announcing that they were on the point of commencing their march 
into the heart of the country. To increase the efl^ect of the letters, 
they were accompanied by nearly all the gold that had been collected, 
together with the splendid gifts of Montezuma, and such curiosities 
as might interest the learned of Spain. The business of carrying 
these letters to the kmg was intrusted to Montejo and Puerto Car- 
rero, and they were instructed, above all, to endeavour to secure the 
appointment of Cortes as captain-general of the colony. On the 
26th of July, 1519, the little ship set sail, freighted with a more pre- 
cious cargo than had ever yet been packed within the timbers of a 
vessel from the New World. The pilot was instructed to make 



CORTES DESTROYS HIS SHIPS. 



61 




MONTE ZUM A. 



direct for Spain, landing at no intermediate station, and especially 
avoiding Cuba. 

The departure of this vessel seems to have raised thoughts of 
home in the minds of some of those who were left behind. A con- 
spiracy was formed by some of the soldiers and sailors, along with 
the clergyman Diaz, to seize a vessel and return to Cuba. The con 
spiracy was discovered ; two of the ringleaders were hanged, and 
the rest whipped or confined. Foreseeing, however, that such con- 
spiracies would be constantly occurring, unless effectual means were 
taken to prevent them, Cortes came to the resolution, almost unpa 
ralleled in the annals of heroism, of destroying the ships which had 
brought him to Mexico. Accordingly, taking counsel with a few of 
his most attached followers, he procured a report from the pilots that 
the vessels were not seaworthy, and caused them to be broken in 
pieces and sunk, before the majority were aware of his design. 
When the Spaniards thus saw themselves shut up in a strange and 
populous country, with no means of retreat, their first impulse was 
one of rage and despair, and Cortes had nearly fallen a sacrifice. 
-As he foresaw, however, the daring act had the effect of bracing his 
men to a pitch of resolution all but supernatural. Besides, by the 
destruction of the fleet, he obtained a reinforcement of a hundred and 



52 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 




c o B T a s. 



:en men — the mariners, formerly employed in the ships, being now 
converted into soldiers, and very good ones, as it afterwards proved. 

All being now ready, Cortes, leaving a considerable force as a gar- 
rson to the new settlement of Villa Rica, under the command of 
Tuan de Escalante, set out from the territory of the Totonacs, on his 
march inland, on the 16th of August, 1519. His army consisted of 
four hundred Spaniards on foot, and fifteen horse, accompanied by 
thirteen hundred Cempoallan warriors, and a thousand tamanes^ or 
Indian body slaves, furnished by the cacique of Cempoalla, who 
were to carry the heavy burdens and perform other laborious offices. 
Advancing through the tierra caliente, they began to ascend the 
mountains which separate it from the vast table-land of Anahuac. 
A few days' march across the tierra templada and the tierra fria, 
brought the Spaniards to the small mountain province of Tlascala, 
situated about half-way between the sea-coast and the JMexican val- 
ley. The Tlascalans were a brave and high-spirited people, of the 
same race as the Aztecs. They had refused, however, to submit to 
the empire of Montezuma, and were the only people in Anahuac 
who bade defiance to his power, preferring poverty and hardship in 
their mountain home to the loss of independence. The government 
'if Tlascala was a kind of feudalism. Four lords, or caciques, held 
their courts in diflJerent quarters of the same city, independently of 



TKEATY WITH TLASCALA. 



pach other, n.nd yet mutually allied ; and under these four chieftains 
the Tlascalan population, nobles and commons, were ranged assubjects 
On the approach of the Spaniards, a consultation was held among 
the Tlascalan lords and their counsellors, as to how the strangers 
should be received ; some being inclined to welcome them, in hopes 
of being able, by their assistance, to cope with Montezuma; others 
maintaining that the Spaniards were enemies and ought to be repulsed 
by all means. The latter opinion prevailed, and three desperate battles 
were fought between the Tlascalans, under the command of Xico- 
tencatl, a brave and able young chief, the son of one of the four 
caciques, and the Spanish invaders. These engagements were far 
more serious than the battles which the Spaniards had fought with 
the Tabascans ; and it required the utmost exertion of Castilian 
valour, directed by all the ability of Cortes, to gain the victory. 
But Indian courage against the flower of European chivalry — 
the maquahuitU or war-club, dreadful instrument as it was, with 
its sharp, flinty blades, against muskets and artillery — coatings 
of war-paint, or doublets of featherwork, against Spanish mail 
— were a very unequal contest; and, as usual, the losses of the 
Spaniards were as nothing conj pared with the fierceness of the 
struggle. But how could the little army hope to advance through a 
country where such battles had to be fought at every step ? If such 
were their reception by the Tlascalans, what might they not expect 
from the richer and more powerful Mexicans? Such were the 
reflections of the Spanish soldiery. The idea of their ever reaching 
Mexico, says Bernal Diaz, was treated as a jest by the whole army. 
Fortunately, when these murmurs were reaching their Ifeight, the 
Tlascalans submitted, and sent ambassadors to beg the friendship of 
the Spaniards; and on the 23d of September, 1519, the Spaniards 
entered the city of Tlascala, a large and populous town, which 
Cortes compared to Granada in Spain. Here they were cordially 
received by the four caciques, and especially by the elder Xicoten 
call ; and in a short time an intimacy sprung up between the Tlas 
calans and the invaders, and a treaty was concluded, by which the 
Tlascalans bound themselves to assist the Spaniards throughout the 
rest of their expedition. Her^ , as well as elsewhere, Cortes showed 
his zeal for the Catholic fp ih by endeavouring to convert the na- 
tives ; and it is probable tliat the same scenes of violence would have 
t4ken place at Tlascala as at Cempoalla, had not the judicious fath<'i 



54 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 




MASSACRK AT CHOLTJLA. 



Olmedo interfered to temper the more headlong fanaticism of the 
general. 

While in Tlascala, Cortes received various embassies from pro- 
vmces in tlie neighbourhood anxious to secure his good will. About 
the same time, an embassy was received from Montezuma himself, 
entreating Cortes not to place any rehance upon the Tlascalaus, 
whom he represented as treacherous barbarians ; and now inviting 
him, in cordial terms, to visit his capital, pointing out the route 
through the city of Cholula as the most convenient. This route 
was accordingly adopted, and the Spaniards, accompanied by ai» 
army of six :;housand Tlascalan warriors, advanced by it towards 
Mexico. Their approach gave great alarm, and Montezuma set on 
foot a scheme for their massacre at Cholula, which, however, was dis- 
coveied by Cortes, who took a terrible vengeance on the sacred city. 
Montezuma, overawed, again made overtures of reconciliation, and pro- 
mised the Spaniards an immense quantity of gold if they woulJ ad- 
vance no farther. This Cones refused, and the Spanish army with 



MARCH INTO THE INTERIOR. 



55 



the Tlascalan warriors left Cholula and proceeded on their narch, i let 
everywhere by deputations from neighbouring towns, many of which 
were disaflected to the government of Montezuma. The route of the 
army lay between two gigantic volcanic mountains, and the march, 
for a day or two, was toilsome and bitterly cold. At last, "turning 
an angle of the sierra, they suddenly came on a view which more 
than compensated their toils. It was that of the Valley of Mexico ; 
which, with its picturesque assemblage of water, woodland, and cul- 
ixvated .plains, its shining cities and shadowy hills, was spread out 
I'ke some gay and gorgeous panorama before them. Stretching 
far away at their feet were seen noble forests of oak, sycamore, ana 
cedar ; beyond, yellow fields of maize, and the towering maguey, 
intermingled with orchards and blooming gardens. In the centre 
of the great basin were beheld the lakes, their borders thickly stud- 
ded with towns and hamlets ; and in the midst, like some Indian 
empress with her coronal of pearls, the fair city of Mexico, with her 
white towers and pyramidal temples, reposing, as it were, on the 
bosom of the waters — the far-famed 'Venice of the Aztecs.' "* 

Descending into the valley, the Spaniards halted at Ajotzinco, a 
town on the banks of the southernmost of the five lakes. Mean- 
while, Montezuma was in an agony of indecision. When intelligence 
reached him that the Spaniards had actually descended into the val- 
ley, he saw that he must either face the strangers in the field of 
battle, or admit them into his capital. His brother, Cuitlahua, ad- 
vised the former ; but his nephew, Cacama, the young lord of Tez- 
cuco, was of the contrary opinion, and Montezuma, at length, sent 
him to meet the Spaniards, and welcome them to his dominions. 
Cacama accordingly set out in state, and arrived at Ajotzinco just 
as the Spaniards were about to leave it. When he came into the 
presence of Cortes, he said to him, "Malintzin, here am I and these 
lords come to attend you to your residence in our city, by order of 
the great Montezuma.'* Cortes embraced the prince, and presented 
him with some jewels. After a httle while, Cacama took his leave 
and the Spaniards resumed their march. Travelling along the 
southern and western banks of Lake Chalco, they crossed the 
causeway which divides it from Lake Xochichalco, and advanced 
along the margin of the latter to the royal city of Iztapalapan, situ- 
ated on the banks of the great Tezcucan Lake over against Mexico 



* Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, vol. ii. p. 47. 



56 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 



To the eyes of the Spaniards, all that they saw in their journey 
seemed fairy-land. 

It was on the 7th of November, 1519, that the Spaniards arrived 
at Iztapalapan ; and here they spent the night, lodged in magnih- 
cent palaces built of stone, and the timber of which was cedar. 
From this position, the eye could sweep over the whole expanse of 
the Tezcucan Lake. Canoes of ail sizes might be seen skimming 
along its surface, either near the middle or close to the banks, where 
the thick woods came down to the water's edge, tiere also, -moving 
slowly along the margin of the lake, might be seen a still stranger 
sight — the chinampas, or floating-gardens — little islands consisting 
of earth laid on rafts, planted with flowers, shrubs, and fruit-trees, 
containing a small hut or cottage in the centre, occupied by the pro- 
prietor, who, by means of a long pole, which he pushed against the 
bottom, could shift his little domain from place to place. But what 
fixed the eyes of the Spaniards above all else was the glittering spec- 
tacle which rose from the centre of the lake — the queenly city ot 
Mexico, the goal of their hopes and wishes for many months past. 
In a few hours they would be within its precincts — a few hundred 
men shut up in the very heart of the great Mexican empire ! Wha* 
might be their fate there ! 

The islet on which Mexico was built was connected with the 
mainland by three distinct causeways of stone, constructed with in 
credible labour and skill across the lake, and intersected at intervals 
by drawbridges, through which canoes might pass and repass with 
ea&e. The causeway by which the Spaniards must pass, connected 
the island with the southern bank of the lake, about half-way across, 
to which it branched off into two lines, one leading to the city of 
Cojohuacan, the other meeting the mainland at a point not far from 
Iztapalapan, where the Spaniards were quartered. This causeway 
was about eight yards wide, and capable of accommodating ten or 
twelve horsemen riding abreast. It was divided, as before-mentioned, 
by several drawbridges ; a circumstance which the Spaniards ob- 
served with no small alarm, for they saw that, by means of these 
drawbridges, their communication with the mainland could be com 
pletely cut ofl" by the Mexicans. 

On the morning of the 8th of November, 1519, the army left 
Iztapalapan, and advanced along the causeway towards the capital. 
First went Cortes with his small body of horse ; next came the 
Spanish foot, amounting to not more than four hundred men ; aftei 



ENTRY INTO MEXICO. 



57 




CORTES MABCHIHa INTO MEXICO. 



them came the Indian tamanes, carrying the baggage ; and last of ai. 
came the Tlascalan warriors, to the number of about five thousand. 
As they moved along the causeway, the inhabitants of the city 
crowded in myriads to gaze at them, some finding standing-room on 
the causeway itself, others skimming along the lake in canoes, and 
clambering up the sides of the causeway. A little more than half- 
way across, and at a distance of a mile and a half from the city, the 
branch of the causeway on which the Spaniards were marching, 
was joined by the other branch ; and here the causeway widened 
for a small space, and a fort or gateway was erected, called Fort 
of Xoloc. On arriving at the gateway, the army was met by a long 
procession of Aztec nobles, richly clad, who came to announce the 
approach of the emperor himself to welcome the Spaniards to his 
capital. Accordingly, when the remainder of the causeway had 
been almost traversed, and the van of the army was near the thresh 
old of the city, a train was seen advancing along the great avenue. 
"Amidst a crowd of Indian nobles, preceded by three officers o^ 
state bearing golden wands, the Spaniards saw the royal palan 
quin of Montezuma, blazing with burnished gold. It was borne on 
the shoulders of nobles, and over it a canopy of gaudy featherwork, 
jjowdered with jewels, and fringed with silver, and was supported 



58 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 



by four attendants of the same rank. They were barefooted, and 
walked with a slow, measured pace, and with eyes bent on the 
orround. When the train had come within a convenient distance it 
hahed ; and Montezuma, descending from his htter, came forward, 
leaning on the arms of the lords of Tezcuco and Iztapalapan — the 
one his nephew, the other his brother. As the monarch advanced 
under the canopy, the obsequious attendants strewed the ground 
with cotton tapestry, that his imperial feet might not be contami- 
nated by the rude soil. His subjects, of high and low degree, who 
lined the sides of the causeway, bent forward with their eyes fast- 
ened on the ground as he passed, and some of the humbler class 
prostrated themselves before him."* 

Cortes and the Mexican emperor now stood before each other. 
When Cortes was told that the great Montezuma approached, he 
dismounted from his horse, and advanced towards him with much 
respect. Montezuma bade him welcome, and Cortes rephed with a 
suitable compliment. After some ceremonies, and the exchange of 
presents, Montezuma and his courtiers withdrew, the Spaniards fol- 
lowing. Advancing into the city, wondering at all they saw — the 
long streets, the houses which, in the line along which they passed, 
belonged mostly to the noble and w^ealthy Mexicans, built of red 
stone, and surmounted with parapets or battlements ; the canals 
which here and there intersected the streets, crossed by bridges ; 
and the large open squares which occurred at intervals — the Spa- 
niards were conducted to their quarters, situated in an immense 
square in the centre of the city, adjoining the temple of the great 
Mexican war-god. Montezuma was waiting to receive them ; and 
the Spaniards were surprised and delighted with the princely gene- 
rosity with which he supplied their wants. 

Next day, Cortes paid a visit to Montezuma in his palace, attended 
by some of his principal officers. In the conversation which ensued, 
Cortes broached the topic of religion, and informed Montezuma "that 
we were all brothers, the children of Adam and Eve, and that as 
ruch, our emperor, lamenting the loss of souls in such numbers as 
those which were brought by the Mexican idols into everlasting 
flames, had sent us to apply a remedy thereto by putting an end to 
the worship of these false gods." These remarks seemed to dis- 
please Montezuma, who, however, made a polite reply. 



♦ Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, vol. ii p. 67. 



CORTES m MEXICO. 



59 



AY after day, the intercourse between 
Cortes and Montezuma was renewed ; 
the Spanish soldiers also became gra- 
dually familiar with the Mexicans 

After describing Montezuma's house- 
hold, including a great aviary or col- 
lection of birds, and a menagerie, the 
chronicler Bernal Diaz gives us an 
account of Cortes's first tour through 
the city, accompanied by Montezuma. 
They first visited the great bazaar, or 
market, held in the western part of the city. "When we arrived 
there, we were astonished at the crowds of people, and the regular- 
ity which prevailed, as well as at the vast quantities of merchandise 
which those who attended us were assiduous in pointing out. Each 
kind had its particular place of sale, which was distinguished by a 
sign. The articles consisted of gold, silver, jewels, feathers, man- 
tles, chocolate, skins dressed and undressed, sandals and other ma- 
nufactures of the roots and fibres of nequen, and great numbers of 
male and female slaves, some of whom were fastened by the neck 
in collars to long poles. The meat market was stocked with fowls, 
game, and dogs. Vegetables, fruits, articles of food ready dressed, 
salt, bread, honey, and sweet pastry made in various ways, were also 
sold here. Other places in the square were appropriated to the sale 
of earthenware, wooden household furniture, such as tables and 
benches, firewood, paper, sweet canes filled with tobacco mixed with 
liquid amber, copper axes and working-tools, and wooden vessels 
highly painted. Numbers of women sold fish, and fittle loaves made 
of a certain mud which they find in the lake, and which resembles 
cheese. The makers of stone-blades were busily employed shaping 
them out of the rough material ; and the merchants who dealt in 
gold had the metal in grains as it came from the mines, in transpa- 
rent tubes, so that they could be reckoned ; and the gold was valued 
at so many mantles, or so many xiquipils of cocoa, according to the 
size of the quills. The entire square was enclosed in piazzas, under 
which great quantities of grain were stored, and where were also 
shops for various kinds of goods. Courts of justice, where three 
judges sat to settle disputes which might arise in the market, occu- 
pied a part of the square, their under-officers, or policemen, being 
in the market inspecting the merchandise.'* 




60 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 




TH3 GB2AT TBMPLB 07 MSXICO 



PivK^eeding from the market-place through various parts of the 
city, the Spaniards came to the great teocalli, or temple, in the 
neighbourhood of their own quarters. It was a huge pyramidal 
structure, consisting of five stories, narrowing above each other likr 
the tubes of an extended spy-glass, (only square in shape,) so as tc 
leave a clear pathway round the margin of each story. The ascent 
was by means of a stone stair, of a hundred and fourteen steps. 
Arrived at the summit, Cortes and hjs companions found it to be a 
large flat area, laid with stone ; at one end of which they shuddered 
as they saw a block of jasper, which they were told was the stone 
on which the human victims were laid when the priests tore out 
their hearts to ofTer to their idols : at the other end was a tower of 
three stories, in which were the images of the two great Mexican 
deities Huitzilopochth and Tezcatlipoca, and a variety of articles per 



THE TEMPLE OF MEXICO. 



61 



taming to their worship. "From the top of the temple,^ says Ber- 
nal Diaz, "we had a clear prospect of the three causeways by which 
Mexico communicated with the land, and we could now perceive 
that in this great city, and all the others of the neighbourhood which 
v\ ere built in the water, the houses stood separate from each other, 
communicating only by small drawbridges and by boats, and that 
they were bijilt with terraced tops. The noise and bustle of the 
market-place below us could be heard almost a league off; and those 
who had been at Rome and Constantinople, said that, for conveni- 
ence, regularity and population, they had never seen the like." At 
the request of Cortes, Montezuma, though with apparent reluctance, 
(ed the Spaniards into the sanctuary or tower where the gods were. 
"Here," says Diaz, "were two altars, highly adorned with richly- 
wrought timbers on the roof, and over the altars gigantic figures 
resembling very fat men. The one on the right was their war-god, 
with a great face and terrible eyes. This figure was entirely covered 
with gold and jewels, and his body bound with golden serpents ; in 
his right hand he held a bow, and in his left a bundle of arrows. 
Before the idol was a pan of incense, with three hearts of human 
victims, which were burning, mixed with copal. The whole of that 
apartment, both walls and floor, was stained with human blood in 
such quantity as to cause a very offensive sniell. On the left was 
the other great figure, with a countenance like a bear, and great 
shining eyes of the polished substance whereof their mirrors are 
made. The body of this idol was also covered with jewels. An 
offering lay before him of five human hearts. In this place was a 
drum of most enormous size, the head of which was made of the 
skins of large serpents : this instrument, when struck, resounded 
with a noise that could be heard to the distance of two leagues, and 
so doleful that it deserved to be named the music of the infernal 
regions." 

This state of things could not last. Cortes, of course, had no 
intention of leaving Mexico, now that he had made good his quarters 
in it ; out as it was not to be expected that Montezuma and his sub- 
jects would continue their friendly intercourse with him if they sup- 
posed that he purposed to remain, he saw the necessity of taking 
some decided step to secure himself and his men against any out 
break which might occur. The step which he resolved upon in his 
own mind was the seizure of Montezuma. By having him in their 
|)ower, he would be able, he imagined, to maintain a control o\er 

P 



B2 THE COXQUEST OF MEXICO. 

the whole population of the city — amounting, it was believed, to 
nearly three hundred thousand. Nor was a pretex'; wanting to ^i/e 
an appearance of justice to the daring act which they contem- 
plated. Cortes had just received intelligence that a battle had been 
fought between the garrison which he had left at Villa Rica, and a 
body of Mexicans under the command of the Mexican governor of 
a province adjacent to the Spanish settlement. Although Cortes 
cared little for this occurrence, he resolved to avail himself of it for 
his purpose ; so, after a night spent in prayer for the blessing of 
God on what he was about to do, he proceeded with five of his offi- 
cers and the two interpreters. Donna Marina and Aguilar, to Monte- 
zuma's palace. The monarch, as usual, received him kindly ; but 
when Cortes, after upbraiding him with being the cause of the attack 
on the Spanish garrison at Villa Rica, as well as with the attempt 
made by the Cholulans to arrest his own progress towards Mexico, 
informed him that he had come to take him prisoner, he could no 
longer contain himself, but gave full vent to his rage and astonish- 
ment. But the rage of an Indian prince was impotent against the 
stern resolution of the European general ; and as the helpless mon- 
arch gazed on the unyielding countenances of his visitors, whose 
fingers were playing with the hilts of their swords, his anger 
changed into terror : he was seized with a fit of trembling, and the 
tears gushed into his eyes. Without any resistance, he was re- 
moved in his royal litter to the Spanish quarters, giving it out to his 
nobles and subjects that he went voluntarily, on a visit to Cortes, 
and desiring them to remain quiet. 

Another degradation awaited the unhappy monarch. He was 
obliged to surrender the governor and three other chiefs, who had 
led the attack on the garrison of Villa Rica , ana these were burned 
alive by the orders of Cortes, in front of Montezuma's palace, the 
emperor himself being kept in irons while the p.^^cution was going 
on. 

All this took place within ten days of the arrival of the {Spaniards 
in Mexico; and, for three or four months, Montezuma continued a 
prisoner in the Spanish quarters. Here he was attended with the 
most profound respect, Cortes himself never approaching him with- 
out taking off his cap, and punishing severely every attempt, on 
the part of any of his soldiers, to insult the royal captive. Such 
instances, however, were very rare ; for the kindly demeanor of 
Montezuma, his gentleness under his misfortunes, and, above all, his 



MEXICO CEDED TO THE SPANIARDS. 



63 




CORTHS OBDSRINQ MONTEZUMA TO BB CHAINED. 



liberality to those about him, won the hearts of the Spaniards, and 
made him a general favourite. Nor did Montezuma make any at- 
tempt to regain his liberty. Attended by his officers as usual, he 
received deputations and transacted business ; amused himself by 
various Mexican games, and appeared to delight in the society of 
some of the Spaniards, for whom he had contracted a particular par- 
tiality. 

The Spanish general was now absolute in Anahuac ; Montezuma 
acted under his instructions ; and officers were sent out in different 
directions to survey the country, and ascertain the situation and 
extent of the gold and silver mines, as if all belonged to the King of 
Spain. Nor was the formal cession of the kingdom by Montezuma 
long delayed. Assembling all his nobles at the instigation of Cortes, 
the Indian monarch addressed them, desiring them to concur with 
him in surrendering their empire to the Spaniards, who were to 
come from the rising sun. " ' For eighteen years,' he said, ' that 1 
have reigned, I have been a kind monarch tov-you, and you have 
been faithful subjects to me ; indulge me, then, with this last av.t of 
obedience.' The princes, with many sighs and tears, promised 
Montezuma, who was still more affected, that they would do what- 
ever he desired. He then sent a message to Cortes, telling him 
that, on the ensuing day, he and his princes would tender their alle- 
giance to his majesty, the emperor. This they accordingly did at the 
time appointed, in the presence of all the Spanish officers and many 
5 



64 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 



of the soldiers, not one of whom could refrain from weeping- on le- 
holding the agitation and distress of the great and generous Monte- 
zuma." 

Montezuma accompanied the surrender of his kingdom with the 
gift of an immense treasure, which he had concealed in an apart- 
ment within their quarters, desiring it to be sent to Spain, as tribute- 
money to King Charles from his vassal Montezuma. The sight ol 
this treasure roused the avaricious passions of the Spanish soldiers, 
and they clamoured for a division of the wealth which had been col- 
lected since their entrance into Mexico. Cortes was obliged to yield 
to their demand. The whole wealth amassed during their residence 
in Mexico amounted, according to Mr. Prescott's calculation, tc 
about one million four hundred thousand pounds sterling, including 
not only the gold cast into ingots, but also the various articles of 
jewelry, which were of too fine workmanship to be melted dG\/n. 
The mode of division was this: — First, his majesty's fifth w.v.< set 
aside ; next, a fifth of the remainder was set aside for Cortes, after 
that, all the debts of the expedition were to be discharged, including 
the amount vested in the expedition by Velasquez, the pa) ment of 
agents in Spain, &c. ; then the losses incurred in the expedition 
were to be made good, including the expense of the shipsi sunk off 
Villa Rica, the price of the horses killed, &.c. ; and lastly, certain 
individuals in the army, as the clergymen and the captains, were 
to receive larger allowances than the rest. "By the tin)e all these 
drafts were made," says Bernal Diaz, "what remained for each sol- 
dier was hardly worth stooping for;" in other words, instead of 
amounting to ten or fifteen thousand dollars, as they had expected^ 
each soldier's share came only to about fifteen hundred dollars. 
Manv refused to take their shares, complaining of injustice in the 
division, and it required all the skill and management of Cortes to 
soothe the spirits of the discontented. Not a few, it appeired in the 
end, were no richer for all the prize-money they had obtained than 
when they left Cuba; for, as Bernal Diaz tells us, " deep gaming 
went on day and night with cards made out of the heads of drums." 

Only one source of discomfort now remained to Cortes. This was 
the continuance of the idolatrous worship of the Mexicans. This> 
subject occupied his thoughts incessantly ; and he cot Id not per- 
suade himself that his efforts would be meritorious in the eyes of 
God, or even that he could hope for permanent success, until the 
false gods of the Mexicans had been shattered in pieces, and their 



EXPEDITION OF NAKVAEZ. 



iemples converted into Christian sanctuaries. Not only as a devout 
Catholic did he abominate the existence of a false worship m a 
country over which he had control, but, as a man, as a native of a 
civilized country, he shrunk in abhorrence from the bloody and sick- 
ening rites which formed part of the religion of the Mexicans — their 
human sacrifices — accompanied, strangely enough, among a people 
so polished and so advanced in ingenious arts, by the practice of 
rnnnibalism. At length Cortes announced to Montezuma that he 
mutt allow at least a part of the great temple to be converted into a 
Christian place of worship. Montezuma had been a priest, and the 
proposal was, perhaps, the most shocking that could have been made 
to him. He gave his consent, however, and one of the sanctuaries 
on the top of the temple was purified, and an altar and a crucifix 
erected in it. 

This last act filled up the measure of Mexican endurance. To 
see their monarch a prisoner, to surrender their kingdom and its 
treasures — these they could submit to ; but could they sit tamely 
under an insult offered to their gods? Hither and thither, through 
the city, ran the priests, with haggard faces and hair clotted 
with blood, stirring up the zeal of the inhabitants, ana denouncing 
woes unless the Spaniards were expelled. The crisis was imminent, 
and every possible precaution was used to prevent a sudden surprise 
by the excited Mexicans. 

It was now the month of May, 1520, and the Spaniards had been 
six months in the Mexican capital. Suddenly the little army was 
thrown into consternation by intelligence of an unexpected kind 
received by Cortes. 

It will be remembered that, before advancing into the interior oi 
the country, Cortes had despatched a vessel to Spain with letters to 
the emperor, Charles V., and a quantity of treasure. Contrary to 
the instructions of Cortes, the vessel touched at Cuba, on its voyage; 
and a sailor escaping conveyed to Velasquez an account of all that 
had taken place in the expedition, down to the foundation of Villa 
Rica. The rage of Velasquez exceeded all bounds. He wrote let- 
ters to the home government, and also to the court for colonial affairs 
established in Hispaniola ; and, not content with this, he instantly 
began to fit out a second expedition, which was to proceed to Mex- 
ico, depose or decapitate Cortes, and seize the country for the Span- 
ish sovereign in the name of the governor of Cuba. The fleet waa 
arger, with one exception, than any yet fitted out for the navigation 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 




BXPBDITION OF NA.RVA.BZ, 



ol the seas of the New World. It consisted of nineteen vessels, 
carrying upwards of a thousand foot-soldiers, twenty cannons, eighty 
horsemen, a hundred and sixty musketeers and crossbow-men, be- 
sides a thousand Indian servants — a force sufficient, as it seemed, to 
render all resistance on the part of Cortes hopeless. Velasquez, at 
first, intended to command the expedition in person ; but, as he was 
:oo old and too unwieldy for such a laborious task, he intrusted it to 
Don Pamfilo de Narvaez, described as a man "about forty-two years 
of age, of tall stature, and large limbs, a full face, red beard, and 
agreeable presence ; very sonorous and lofty in his speech, as if the 
sound came out of a vault ; a good horseman, and said to be 
valiant." 

The fleet anchored ofl^ the coast of Mexico, at San Juan de Ulloa, 
on the 23d of April, 1520. Here Narvaez received information 
which astonished him — that Cortes was master of the Mexican capi- 
tal ; that the Mexican emperor was his prisoner ; that the country 
and its treasures had been surrendered to the Spanish sovereign ; 
md that at present his rival was as absolute in it as if he were its 



DEFEAT OP NARVAEZ. 



67 



monarch. This information only increased his anxiety to come to a 
collision with Cortes; and, with singular imprudence, he went 
about among the Indians, declaring, in a blustering manner, that 
Cortes was a rebel against his sovereign, and that he had come to 
chastise him, and to set Montezuma free. 

Narvaez's first step was to send three messengers, one of them a 
priest, to the garrison of Villa Rica, to summon them to surrender. 
The commandant of the garrison, appointed shortly after the death 
of Juan de Escalante, was Gonsalvo de Sandoval, a young officer, a 
native of the same town as Cortes, and who had already won the 
esteem of his general and of the whole army by his valour and ser- 
vices. When the messengers of Narvaez, arriving at Villa Rica, 
presented a copy of Narvaez's commission, and summoned the gar- 
rison to surrender, Sandoval, without any ceremony, caused them to 
be seized, strapped to the backs of Indian porters, and instantly sent 
across the country to Mexico, in charge of one or two soldiers, who 
carried a note to Cortes, informing him of what had happened. 
Cortes, after thoroughly gaining them over by kind words and pre- 
sents, sent them back to sow the seeds of dissension in Narvaez's 
army. At the same time, he entered into a correspondence with 
Narvaez, which led to no definite result. As there was great dan 
ger that Narvaez would succeed in alienating the Cempoallans from 
Cortes, if he were to remain in his present position, Cortes resolved 
to leave Mexico with a part of his men, march to the sea-coast, and, 
if necessary, give battle to Narvaez. This was a perilous step ; 
but, in the circumstances, it was absolutely necessary. 

Leaving a garrison of a hundred and forty men in Mexico, undei 
the command of Pedro de Alvarado, who appeared by far the fittesi 
person for so responsible a post, Cortes set out with the rest of hi? 
force, amounting to less than two hundred soldiers, only five o^ 
whom were cavalry, and, by rapid marches reached the Totonar 
territories, where he was reinforced by Sandoval and his small body 
of men. Altogether, Cortes's army did not amount to more than a 
fifth part of that of Narvaez. They were veterans in service, how- 
ever, and, under such a leader as Cortes, were prepared to attempt 
impossibilities. Narvaez, in the mean time, was in close quarters at 
Cempoalla, aware that his rival was on his march, but httle suspect- 
ing that he was so near. On the night of the 26th of May, 1520, 
Cortes and his brave little band, crossing, with difficulty, a swollen 
river which lay between them and their countrymen, advanced 



68 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 




DEFBAT OF NARVAKZ. 



Stealthily towards Narvaez's quarters, surprised the sentinels, and 
shouting the watchword, "Espirito Santo!" dashed in among the 
half-awakened, half-armed foe. The struggle did not last long ; for 
Sandoval, with a small body of picked men, springing up the stairs 
of the house where Narvaez was lodged, succeeded, after a hand-to- 
hand fight with the general and his followers, in making him pri- 
soner, after he had lost an eye and been otherwise severely wounded. 
On learning the fall of their leader, the rest yielded ; and when 
daylight came, Cortes, "seated in an arm-chair, with a mantle of 
an orange colour thrown over his shoulders, and surrounded by his 
officers and soldiers," received the salutations and the oaths of alle- 
giance of all the followers of Narvaez. In his treatment of these 
new friends, his usual policy was conspicuous: he plied them with 
flatteries, and loaded them with gifts, till his own veterans began to 
be envious. Thus, by a single bold stroke, which cost him but a 



MEXICAN REVOLT. 



69 



ew men, Cortes had crushed a formidable enemy, and increased his 
Dwn force sixfold. Fortune favours the brave ! His army now 
amourked to thirteen hundred men, exclusive of the garrison he had 
left in Mexico; and of these thirteen hundred nearly a hu'ndred 
were cavalry. With such a force, he might now prosecute his 
designs in Mexico with every prospect of success, and bid defiance 
to all the efforts of the Mexicans to regain their independence. 

He was disagreeably roused from these self-congratulations by 
intelligence from Mexico. Some difference had occurred between 
Pedro de Alvarado and the Mexicans, the latter of which had risen 
en masse, and were besieging the Spaniards in their quarters. 
Without loss of time, he commenced his march towards the capital, 
leaving a hundred men at Villa Rica. At Tlascala he was joined by 
two thousand of tiis faithful mountain allies ; and the whole army 
then pushed on for the Mexican valley, anxious to relieve Alvarado, 
whom the Mexicans were now trying to reduce by blockade. On 
the 24th of June, they reached the great lake, and marched along 
the causeway without opposition, but amidst an ominous stillness. 
Alvarado clasped his general in his arms for joy ; and now, for the 
first time, Cortes learned the origin of the revolt. Alvarado, sus- 
pecting some conspiracy among the Aztec nobles, had treacherously 
massacred a number of them collected at a religious festival, and the in- 
habitants had risen to take vengeance for the injury. Cortes sharply 
rebuked his officer for his misconduct; but the evil was already 
done, and to punish Alvarado would have been attended with no 
good effect. Moodily and bitterly, therefore, Cortes expended his 
vexation on the unhappy Mexican monarch, accusing him of being 
concerned in the insurrection, and calling upon him to check it, and 
procure provisions for the Spaniards. Montezuma complied as fai 
as lay in his power: Cortes also used his best endeavours to allay 
the storm ; and, for a while, it appeared as if their efforts were sue 
cessful. 

The calm was only temporary. The day after the arrival of Cor- 
tes, a soldier, who had been sent on an errand by him, returned 
breathless and bloody to the Spanish quarters. He had been fallen 
upon by a multitude of Mexicans, who endeavoured to drag him 
away in thsir canoes for sacrifice, and he had only escaped after a 
desperate struggle. The whole city, he said, was in arms ; the 
drawbridges were broken down ; and they would soon attack the 
Spaniards in their stronghold. 



70 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 



The news was too true. The Aztecs poured along the streets 
like a flood, approaching the square where the Spaniards were 
lodged, while the terraced roofs of all the houses in the vicinity 
were crowded with slingers and archers, ready to shower their mis- 
siles upon the besieged. And now commenced a struggle which 
lasted seven days, and to which there is no parallel in history. Day 
after day, the fighting was renewed, the Spaniards either making a 
sally upon the besiegers, or beating them back when they advanced 
to storm or set fire to their quarters. The only relaxation was at 
night, when the Mexicans generally drew off. The Spaniards were 
always victorious ; but their losses were considerable in every ac- 
tion, and the perseverance of the Mexicans alarmed them. Instead 
of yielding to their first defeats, they seemed to act on the conviction 
that they must be defeated continually until the Spaniards were all 
slain. This resolution astonished Cortes, who, till now, had under- 
valued the courage of the Aztecs. His soldiers, especially those 
who had come into the country with Narvaez, heaped reproaches 
upon him; although, when they saw his conduct in the fray — the 
bravery with which he spurred his horse into the thickest of the 
enemy, the generosity with which he would risk his own life to res- 
cue a comrade from the hands of a crowd of Aztecs — their re 
proaches were lost in admiration. 

Wearied out by his incessant efforts, and perceiving the hopeless- 
ness of continuing a contest against so many myriads of enemies — 
for recruits were flocking in from the neighbouring country to assist 
the Mexicans against the common foe — Cortes resolved to try the 
effect of negotiation, and to employ Montezuma as his intercessor. 
At his request, therefore, Montezuma, dressed in his imperial robes, 
appeared on a terraced roof, where he was visible to the multitude 
gathered in the great square. A silence ensued, and Montezuma 
was parleying with four nobles who approached him, when suddenly 
a shower of stones and arrows fell on the spot w^here he w^as stand- 
ing. The Spanish soldiers tried to interpose their bucklers; but it 
was too late ; Montezuma fell to the ground, his head, bleeding from 
the effect of a blow with a stone. He was immediately removed, 
and every means used for his recovery; nor was the wound of itself 
dangerous. But his kingly spirit had received a wound which no 
words could heal ; he had been reviled and struck by his own sub- 
jects, among whom hitherto he had walked as a sacred being: he 
refused to live any longer. He tore the bandages from his head 



DEATH OF MONTEZUMA. 



71 



and rejected all nourishment ; and in a short time the Spaniards 
were informed that their unhappy prisoner was dead. Cortes and 
many of the men could not refrain from weeping ; and the body 
was surrendered to the Mexicans with every testimony of respect. 

The fighting was now recommenced with greater fury, and pro 
digies of valour were performed by the Spaniards ; but all to nc 
purpose. Another attempt was made to induce the enemy to come 
to terms. The only answer was the threat that they would all be 
sacrificed to the gods, and the appalling information, "You cannot 
escape ; the bridges are broken down." At last, as death was 
before their eyes, it was determined by Cortes, and all the oificers 
and soldiers, to quit the city during the night, as they hoped at that 
time to find the enemy less alert. 

Towards midnight, on the 1st of July, 1520, they left their quar- 
ters secretly, most of the soldiers loading themselves with the gold 
which remained over and above the royal share, and proceeded as 
silently as possible towards the western causeway, leading to Tlaco- 
pan, by which, as being the shortest of the three, (two miles long,) 
they thought that it would be easiest to effect a passage. In this 
causeway, there were three drawbridges separated by intervals 
nearly equal ; and aware that these had been destroyed by the Mexi- 
cans, Cortes had provided a portable bridge, made of timber, the 
carriage of which he had intrusted to forty picked soldiers. The 
van of the army was led by Sandoval, with two hundred foot and a 
body of horse under his command ; the baggage, large guns, and 
prisoners came next, guarded by Cortes and a band of veterans ; and 
the rear was brought up by Pedro de Alvarado and Velasquez de 
Leon, commanding the strength of the infantry. 

The night was dark and rainy. The Spaniards reached the 
causeway without being interrupted. The portable bridge was laid 
across the first moat or gap, and a great part of the army had gone 
over it in safety, and were already approaching the second gap, 
when, through the stillness of the night, there was heard the boom 
of the great drum from the top of the Mexican war temple, the 
rushing of myriads of pursuers along the causeway from behind, 
and the splashing of the oars of thousands of canoes full of war- 
riors, which were advancing through the lake on both sides of the 
causeway. Showers of arrows fell on the rear-guard as they were 
passing over the portable bridge ; and the Aztecs, clambering up 
he sides of the causeway, grappled with the soldiers and tried t<i 



72 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 



drag them into the water. Throwing off these assailants by mam 
strength, Alvarado and his men steadily and expeditiously moved 
on. Moanwhile, the vanguard under Sandoval having reached the 
second gap, were waiting until the portable bridge should be brought 
up to enable them to cross it. Goaded with the arrows which were 
discharged upon them in clouds from the Aztec canoes, they grew 
impatient of the delay, and began to cast anxious glances backward 
along the causeway for the appearance of the bridge. Suddenly 
the appalling news was passed along that the bridge had stuck so 
fast at the first opening that it could not be pulled up. The weight 
of the men and the heavy oaggage crossing it had fastened it into 

the earth so firmly as to defy extrica- 
tion. When this awful intelligence 
reached the vanguard, order and com- 
mand were at an end; uproar and con- 
fusion ensued ; and, seized with the 
instinct of self-preservation, each man 
tried to shift for himself. Flinging 
themselves headlong into the gap, they 
struggled with the Mexican warriors 
in the water, upsetting their canoes in 
their drowning agonies. Rank after 
rank followed, each trampling upon the 
bodies of its predecessors, and floun- 
dering among the canoes which lay 
between them and the opposite side. 
Sandoval and a few of the cavalry 
swam their horses across ; some of the foot also were able to reach 
the side of the causeway and climb up ; but of the vanguard the 
great majority were drowned, or slain, or carried off wounded in the 
Mexican canoes. Meanwhile, on came the rest of the army ; men, 
carriages, guns, baggage, all were swept into the trench, which was 
soon choked up by the wreck. Over this bridge of broken wagons, 
bales of cotton, and tne dead bodies of their companions and ene- 
mies, Cortes and his veterans were able to reach the other side of 
the trench with less difficulty. Here, joining Sandoval and the few 
survivors of his band, they dashed along the causeway towards the 
third and last opening, regardless of the darts and arrows which the 
Mexicans discharged among them from their canoes. Reaching 
^.he third trench, they crossed it in the same manner as the last, but 




ALVARADO'S LEAP. 7^ 

Without so much loss, and were rapidly approaching the mainland, 
whrn, looking back through the dim morning twilight, they saw 
A.lvarado and his rearguard pent up on the causeway between the 
second and third bridges, and almost overborne by the Mexicans 
who surrounded them. Cortes, Sandoval, and a few of the horse 
instantly wheeled round to the rescue; and, recrossing the third gap, 
shouted their battle-cry and interposed between the Spaniards and 
their pursuers. This timely succour enabled most of the infantrv 
to escape; and at length all had crossed the opening except Cortes<, 
Sandoval, Alvarado, and a few others. Cortes, Sandoval, and the 
rest soon followed, carried through by their horses ; and only one 
man remained on the Mexican extremity of the causeway, it was 
Pedro de Alvarado : his horse was slain; and he was standing on 
the brink, surrounded by enemies ready to drag him off, should he 
plunge into the trench. Five or six warriors were already advanc- 
ing from behind to seize him, when, casting one glance at the oppo- 
site edge where hiL countrymen were waiting him, he planted the 
end of his long lance among the rubbish which choked up the gap, 
and, rising in the air, cleared it at a bound. T .e spot where this 
tremendous feat was executed still bears the name of Alvarado^ 
Leap. 

The Mexicans now desisted from the pursuit ; and the relics of 
the Spanish army, advancing along the remainder of the causeway, 
entered Tlacopan. Here they did not remain long, being anxious to 
place themselves beyond the reach of the Mexicans, and to arrive at 
Tlascala, the city (jf their faithful allies. They were now able to 
count the losses which they had sustained during the night. About 
four hundred and fifty Spaniards, and nearly four thousand Tlas- 
calans, had been drowned, slain, or made prisoners during the pas- 
sage along the causeway ; a loss which, added to the numbers killed 
within the city, reduced the army to little more than a fourth of 
what it had been when it entered Mexico ten days before. But the 
most deplorable part of the calamity, in the eyes of Cortes, was the 
loss of all the artillery, firearms, and ammunition, not so much aa 
a musket remaining among the five hundred who survived. Still,, 
under this accumulation of misfortunes, his heart did not sink; and 
his resolution was taken not to leave the country till he had re 
gained his former footing in it, and annexed it as a province to the 
dominions of his sovereign. 

o 

His first object was to reach Tlascala, where he might recruit th«s 
10 G 



74 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 




C0RT2S AT OTUMBA. 



Strength of his men — almost all of whom were stiff with wounds— 
and arrange his future proceedings. After many difficulties, anu 
another great battle on the plain of Otumba, in which he defeatetJ 
the Mexicans, he reached it on the 9th of July, 1520. They were 
kindly received by the generous mountaineers, who withstood all 
the solicitations of the Mexican sovereign, Cuitlahua, Montezuma's 
brother and successor, that they would assist him in driving the 
Spaniards out of the country. 

It was early in autumn, before Cortes left Tlascala. His inten- 
tion was first to punish several states of Anahuac which had revolted 
during his absence in Mexico, especially the districts of Tepeaca 
and Cachula ; and then, after having reduced the whole country 
east of the Mexican valley, to return to the capital itself, and take it 
by storm. With a force so reduced as his, without cannons or othei 
firearms, this was an apparently hopeless enterprise ; but hopeless 
was a word of which Cortes did not know the meaning. Fortu- 
nately, while engaged in subduing the eastern districts of Anahuac, 
he received reinforcements which he never anticipated. Velasquez, 
ignorant of the fate of the expedition which he had sent under Nar- 
vaez, and supposing that Cortes was by this time a prisoner in the 
hands of his rival, had despatched a ship with stores, arms, and 
ammunition to the colony of Villa Rica. The vessel touched at the 
port ; the captain and his men disembarked, suspecting nothing, and 
were instantly seized by the officer of Cortes ; nor did it require 



CORTES RETURNS TO MEXICO. 



76 



much persuasion to induce the whole crew to enJist under the stand- 
ard of a man of whom they had heard so many eulogies. A second 
vessel sent by Velasquez soon afterwards shared the same fate ; three 
ships sent by the governor of Jamaica to prosecute discoveries, and 
plant colonies in Central America, chancing also to land at Villa 
Rica, their crews joined the army of Cortes ; and lastly, a merchant 
vessel, loaded with provisions and all the necessaries of war, arrived 
at the Mexican coast and was purchased by Cortes — sailors, cargo 
and all. 

Having completely subjugated all Anahuac to the east of the 
Mexican valley, Cortes resolved to found a second Spanish colony in 
the interior of the country, which should form a half-way station 
between Villa Rica and the city of Mexico. The site chosen was 
Tepeaca, and the name given to the settlement was Segura de la 
Frontera. From this spot, Cortes wrote a second letter to Charles 
v., giving an account of the expedition from the date of the last let- 
ter down to the foundation of Segura, and announcing his intention 
of marching immediately to reconquer Mexico. 

It was five months after the date of their expulsion from Mexico 
before the Spaniards were in a condition once more to march against 
it. Part of the necessary preparations consisted, as we have seen, 
in the subjugation of those parts of Anahuac which adjoined the 
Mexican valley on the east ; but another cause of delay was the con- 
struction of thirteen brigantines at Tlascala, under the direction of 
Martin Lopez, a skilful shipwright, who had accompanied Cortes. 
These vessels were to be taken to pieces, and transported, together 
with the iron-work and cordage belonging to the ships which Cortes 
had destroyed off Villa Rica, across the mountains to the great Mexi- 
can lake. At length all was ready; and, on the 28th of December, 

1520, the whole army left Tlascala on its march towards Mexico. 
It consisted of about six hundred Spaniards, with nine cannons and 
forty horses, accompanied by an immense multitude of native war- 
riors, Tlascalans, Tepeacans, and Cholulans, amounting probably to 
sixteen thousand men, besides the tamaneSy who were employed in 
transporting the brigantines. Garrisons had, of cour-se, been left at 
Villa Rica and Segura. 

No opposition was offered to the invaders on their march, the 
Mexicans fleeing at their approach ; and on the 1st of January. 

1521, they took possession of the city of Tezcuco. Cuitlahua, Mon- 
tezuma's successor on the throne, was now dead, and his place was 



7(5 



THL CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 




OLID. 



occupied by his nephew, Guatemozin, yet a young man, but the 
most heroic and patriotic of all the Mexicans. The policy of Cortes 
was first to subdue all the states and cities on the margin of the five 
lakes, so as to leave Mexico without protection or assistance, and 
then to direct his whole hrce to the reduction of the capital. Foi 
four months, therefore, Cortes, Sandoval, Alvarado, Olid, and his 
other officers were employed, sometimes separately, sometimes in 
concert, in reconnoitering expeditions into various parts of the Mexi- 
can valley — from Chalco, cn the banks cf the southernmost, to Xal- 
tocan, an island in the northernmost lake. Meantinje three vessels 
arrived at Vera Cruz with a reinforcemen* of two hundred men, 
eighty horses, and a supply of ammunition, all of which reached 
the camp in safety, as the communication to the coast was open. 
Passing over the account of a conspiracy among his men, 
which the prudence and presence of n)ind of Cortes enabled 
him to quash, and of the execution of the Tlascalan chief, 
Xicotencatl, for deserting the Spaniards, we hasten to the con- 
cluding scene. 

On the 10th of Ma}-, 1521, the siege commenced. Alvarado, 
with a hundred and fifty Spanish infantry, thirty cavalry, and eight 
thousand Tlascalan?, t. ok up his station at Tlacopan, so as to com- 
mand the western causeway; Christoval de Olid, with the same 



THE ASSAULT. 



77 



number of cavalry and Indians, and a hundred and seventy-nve 
infantry, commanded one of the branches of the southern causeway 
at Cojohuacan ; and Sandoval, with a force nearly equal, the othei 
branch of the same causeway at Iztapalapan. Cortes himself took 
the command of the flotilla of brigantines. For several days, the 
three captains conducted operations more or less successfully at their 
respective stations, one of Alvarado's services having consisted in 
destroying the pipes which supplied the Mexicans with fresh water, 
so that, during the rest of the siege, they had no other way of pro- 
curing a supply than by means of canoes. The brigantines, when 
they were launched, did immense service in overturning and dis- 
persing the Mexican canoes, and also in protecting the flanks of the 
causeways on which the other detachments were pursuing their ope- 
rations. At length, after much resistance on the part of the Mexi- 
cans, the two causeways, the western and the southern, were com- 
pletely occupied by the Spaniards ; and Sandoval having, by 
Cortes's orders, made a circuit of the lake, and seized the remaining 
causeway of Tepejacac, the city was in a state of blockade. But 
so impatient were the S,ianiards of delay, that Cortes resolved on a 
general assault on the city by all the three causeways at once. 
Cortes was to advance into the city from Xoloc, Alvarado from his 
camp on the western causeway, and Sandoval from his camp on 
the northern ; and the three detachments, uniting in the great 
square in the centre of the city, were to put the inhabitants to 
the sword. The plan had nearly succeeded. The vanguard of 
Cortes's party had chased the retreating Mexicans into the city, and 
were pushing their way to the great square, when the horn of Gua- 
temozin was heard to sound, and the Aztecs, rallying, commenced a 
furious onset. The neglect of Cortes to fill up a trench in one of 
the causeways, impeded the retreat of the Spaniards in such a way 
as to cause a dreadful confusion, and it was only by effcjrts almost 
superhuman that they were able to regain their quarters. Their 
loss amounted to upwards of a hundred men, of whom about sixty 
had been taken alive. 

This triumph elated the Mexicans as much as it depressed th*? 
Spaniards and their allies. It was prophesied by the Mexican 
priests that in eight days all the Spaniards should be slain ; the 
gods, they said, had decreed it. This prediction, reported in the 
quarters of the besiegers, produced an extraordinary effect on the 
allies. They regarded the Spaniards as doomed men, refused tu 

a2 



78 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 



fight With them, and withdrew to a h'ttle distance from the lake. In 
this dilemma, Cortes showed his wonderful presence of mind, by 
ordering a total cessation of hostilities for the period specified by the 
Mexican gods. When the eight days were passed, the allies, 
ashamed of their weakness, returned to the Spanish quarters, and 
the siege recommenced. These eight days, however, had not been 
without their horrors. From their quarters, the Spaniards could 
perceive their fellow-countrymen who had been taken prisoners by 
the Mexicans, dragged to the top of the great war temple, compelled 
to dance round the sanctuary of the gods, then laid on the stone of 
sacrifice, their hearts torn out, and their bleeding bodies flung down 
into the square beneath. 

Famine now assisted the arms of the Spaniards ; still, with that 
bravery of endurance for which their race is remarkable, the Mexi- 
cans continued the defence of the city, and it was not till it had been 
eaten into, as it were, on all sides by the Spaniards, that they ceased 
to fight. On the 14th of August, a murderous assault was com- 
menced by the besiegers. It lasted two days ; and on the evening 
of the second, some canoes were seen to leave the city and endea- 
voured to reach the mainland. They were chased and captured; 
and on board of one of them was found Guatemozin, with his family 
and his principal nobles. Guatemozin's capture was the signal of 
complete defeat; and on the 16th of August, 1521, the city was sur- 
rendered to the Spaniards. The population was reduced to about 
forty thousand, and in a few days all these had disappeared, no one 
knew whither. The city was in ruins, like some huge churchyard 
with the corpses disinterred and the tombstones scattered about. 

HUS was the ancient and beautiful city ot 
Mexico destroyed, and its inhabitants slain or 
dispersed. A monstrous act of unjustifiable 
aggression had been completed. Following 
up this great blow, Cortes pursued the con- 
quest of the country generally ; and in this, 
as well as in organizing it into a colony of 
Spain, he did not experience any serious 
difficulty. On proceeding to Spain, he was received with honour 
by Charles V. He returned to Mexico in 1530; and again revisit- 
ing Spain in 1540, for the purpose of procuring the redress of real 
or alleged grievances, he died in 1547, in the sixty-third year of 
his age. It is very much to be lamented, that, in the execution of his 




RELIQTTES OF ANCIENT MEXICO. 



79 



purposes of colonization, the monuments of Mexico civilization 
were everywhere destroyed, leaving nothing to future generations 
but the broken relics of palaces, temples, and other objects of art, 
scattered amidst the wilderness. Some of these ruined monu- 
ments, recently explored by Stephens and other travellers, show 
that the ancient Mexicans had made remarkable advances in social 
Me as well as in the arts, more particularly architecture ; and what 
renders all such relics the more interesting to the archaeologist is, the 
growing conviction, that the old Mexican civilization was of an 
original type — a thing noway derived from, or connected with, the 
civilization of Egypt, or any other nation in the eastern hemisphere. 




TXlrlC KATION OF AN A. Q t K T> U O T IN S£ B X I O O 



6 



INTIBIOR OF A MEXICAN H O O S 2, 



CHAPTER V. 

RECENT HISTORY OF MEXICO. 

FTER two ye^Ts of continuous and laborious 
warfare, Cortes succeeded in overturning 
the empire of the Aztecs, and the smaller 
states were subjected to the Spaniards al- 
most without a struggle. The position 
which the Spaniards held with respect to 
the natives of the country very much re- 
sembling that of the nations of German ori- 
gin who overturned the Roman empire and 
seliled in the countries of Western Europe. Like them, the Spa- 
uii^rds were obliged to establish a kind of feudal system, to protect 




COLONIZATION OF MEXICO. SI 

themselves against the much more numerous native population. In 
Europe, the victors and the vanquished in the course of time united 
so as to form one nation, but such a change has not taken place in 
Mexico, and probably never will take place. The Spaniards and 
natives belong to two different races of men, differing in colour and 
in many other respects. The Spanish conquerors also had attained 
a higher degree of civilization, while in Europe the conquerors 
learned from the conquered tlie most useful arts of civilized life. 
Even now, more than three centuries since the conquest, the Spa- 
niards and natives constitute two perfectly distinct classes. 

As the number of the conquistadores, or companions of Cortes, 
was very small in comparison with the native population, they were 
anxious to bring over more of their countrymen. A considerable 
number of Spaniards accordingly annually emigrated to Mexico, and 
there acquired great wealth, as officers of government, merchants, 
and adventurers in mining. As many of these Spaniards were pos- 
sessed of extensive property in land within Mexico, their descend- 
ants, the Creoles, settled, of course, in that country, and their num- 
bers were continually increasing. 'Ihe Spanish government, how- 
ever, seems not to have formed a correct idea of their condition 
among the natives, and to have thought that the government of that 
country could only be entrusted to persons who considered Spain as 
their native country ; it, therefore, excluded all the Creoles, or de- 
scendants of Spaniards born in Mexico, from all offices of govern- 
ment, and even from commissions in the army. Such exclusion 
excited in them a considerable degree of ill-will against Spain and 
the Spaniards, which would probably have manifested itself in resist- 
ance and rebellion, if they had not feared that the native population 
would take advantage of such a circumstance to effect their own 
destruction. They had still to fear another enemy which had grown 
up imperceptibly among them. Few of the Spaniards had brough' 
wives with them. From their intercourse with the native women 
sprung up a race called metis, or mestizos, which increased still 
faster than that of the Creoles, who, however, being in possession 
of great wealth, were well aware that as long as a regular govern- 
ment subsisted they had nothing to fear either from the natives or 
the mestizos. This will account for the fact, otherwise difficult of 
explanation, that no signs of active dissatisfaction manifested them- 
selves in Mexico during the first thirty years after the United States 
of North America had obtained their Independence, though the 
11 



B2 



RECENT HISTORY OF MEXICO. 




JOSSPH BON AP A.BTX. 



Mexicans were well acquainted with the advantages which then 
neighbours had obtained. 

It is even possible that the political condition of Mexico would 
not have undergone any change for a long time, but for the events 
in Europe and in Spain, in 1808. By the intrigues of Bonaparte, the 
royal family were compelled to abdicate the throne of Spain, and he 
conferred the whole Spanish monarchy on his brother Joseph, then 
King of Naples. The Spaniards in Mexico and the Creoles were 
unanimous in declaring their resistance to the government established 
by the French. The viceroy could no longer receive orders from 
Spain, and it was necessary to organize a government which should 
act independently under a certain sanction, and with authority. 
But, as to this point, they disagreed. The Creoles wished to esta- 
blish a national representation ; the Spaniards opposed the measure 
and prevented the establishment of a system of national representa 
lion for Mexico 



HIDALGO AND MORELOS. 



83' 




HE Creoles submitted ; but the public 
mind had been agitated by the dis- 
cussions which had taken place, 
^ and soon afterwards, in 1810, the 
natives and the mestizos rose against 
5^ the government. They were headed 
by Don Miguel Hidalgo y Castilla, 
J- the cura, or parish priest of Dolo- 
res, a small town in the state of 



■^^^ ^"^^ Guanaxuato. The Creoles sided 



with the Spanish governmeut. Hidalgo, who had soon an immense 
force with him, took Guanaxuato by storm, and occupied Valladolid, 
whence he advanced over the table-land of Tolucca to that of Teno- 
chtitlan. The Spanish governor sent a small corps against him, 
which was defeated by Hidalgo on the 30th of October at Las Cru- 
ces, a pass in the chain which separates the table-lands of Teno- 
chtitlan and Toluca. But, notwithstanding this victory, Hida.go 
retreated, and eight days afterwards was, in his turn, defeated by 
Calleja, at Aculo. Hidalgo retired to Valladolid and Guadalaxara ; 
and in the neighbourhood of the last-mentioned town, he was again 
defeated, and soon afterwards taken prisoner and shot. 

In the mean time, the whole country had risen in insurrection, and 
many leaders began to act separately. The most remarkable among 
ihem was Don Jose Maria Morelos, cura of Nucupetaro, who, with 
great activity, talents, and success, maintained the southern pro- 
vinces in rebellion against the governor, and formed ^ junta, or cen- 
tral government, which, in September, 1811, assembled in the town of 
Zatacuaro, in the state of Michoacan. But that town was soon after- 
wards taken by Calleja, and the junta were dispersed. Calleja, 
however, was soon obliged to march against Morelos, who had pene- 
trated into the table-land of Tenochtitlan from the south. He was 
attacked by Calleja, in the town of Cuantla y Amilpas, and, after 
defending himself for nearly three months with great skill and gal- 
lantry, he abandoned that place and took Oaxaca. 

The junta was now increased by new members, and under the 
title of the National Assembly, it declared the Independence of 
Mexico, on the 13th of November, 1813. But, after that event, 
Morelos had less success in his daring enterprises ; and, in Novem- 
ber, 1815, he was taken prisoner, conducted to Mexico, and shot. 
Many of his companions in arms maintained the conflict for some 



84 



RECENT HISTORY OF MEXICO. 




MIN A. 



time, but they did not act in concert with one another; especially 
after one of them, Teran, had dissolved the Congress, which had 
been transferred from Oaxaca to Tehuacan in the state of Puebla. 
The viceroy, Venegas, supported by the gallantry and skill of Cal- 
leja, destroyed successively the armies of these chiefs, so that when 
Don Xavier Mina, the famous Spanish guerilla chief, land.^d m 
Mexico, in 1817, the fortune of the insurgents was at so low an ebb 
that he was unable to restore their cause, and he perished in the 
attempt. The country gradually became more tranquil, and in 1820 
it was restored nearly to the same degree of order which it had 
enjoyed before 1808, to which fortunate results the mildness of the 
new viceroy Apodaca materially contributed. 

The events which occurred in Spain in the beginning of 1820, 
suddenly changed the aspect of affairs, and deprived Spain of the 
most valuable of her possessions in America, which it had regained 
at the cost of much blood and treasure. The Spaniards and the Cre- 
oles, who had formerly made common cause, were now divided into 
two parties, royalists and constitutionalists. Apodaca, who inclined 
to the former party, wished to overthrow the constitution of Mexico, 
and chose for his instrument Don Augustin de Iturbide, a young 
man, born in the province of Valladolid, of respectable but not 
wealthy parents. He had distinguished himself in the battle of Leis 
Ciuces, and always shown great attachment to the Spanish part 



ITURBIDE DECLARED E.MPEROR. 



80 




Ifarbide had about eight hundred men under his command, when, 
on the 24th of February, 1821. at the little town of Iguala, on the 
road from Mexico to Acapulco, he issued a proclamation, which, 
since that time, has been called the Plan of Iguala. Its object was 
to conciliate all parties. It was to establish the independence of 
Mexico, and still to preserve its union with Spain. To effect this, 
the crown of Mexico was to be offered to the King of Spain, and in 
case of his refusal, to one of his brothers, Don Carlos or Don Fran- 
dsco de Paulo, provided they would consent to reside in the 
country. 

HOUGH Iturbide had certainl}^ exceeded 
the powers which he had received 
from Apodaca, the viceroy, seeing 
that this proposal met the wishes 
of most persons, took no step to 
crush Iturbide ; and the Spaniards 
of the capital, alarmed at this de- 
lay, deposed him, and placed Don 
Francisco Novella at the head of affairs. But the disorders which 
always attend such violent changes, gave Iturbide time to unite his> 
troops with those of Guerrero, the only insurgent chief still existing 
in the country, and to bring over to his parly all the western and 
northern provinces. Before the month of July, the whole country 
recognised his authority, with the exception of the capital, in which 
Novella had shut himself up w^ith all the European troops. At this 
moment he received intelligence of the arrival at Vera Cruz of the 
new constitutional viceroy Don Juan O'Donoju. Iturbide hastened 
to the coast, obtained an interview with O Donoju, and persuaded 
him to accept the Plan of Iguala as an armistice and final settlement, 
if it should be approved in Spain. This is called the treaty of Cor- 
dova, from the place where it was made. 

Iturbide thus got possession of the capital, where a junta and a 
regency were established, but in such a furm that all power remained 
in the hands of Iturbide. By a decree of the cortes, dated the 13th 
February, 1822, the treaty of Cordova was declared to be illegal, 
null, and void ; and Iturbide, who had the power in his hands, and 
a great number of adherents, found no difficulty in ascending the 
throne. The army declared him Emperor of Mexico, on tnc 18th 
of May, 1822, and he took the title of Augustin I. He was acknow- 
ledged by the Mexican Congress, which had been opened on the 



86 



RECENT HISTORY OF MEXICO. 




ITUBBID3. 



24th of February ; but a struggle for power soon arose between 
Iturbide and the congress, which the emperor terminated by dissolv- 
ing the assembly, in the same manner as Cromwell dissolved the 
Long Parliament, on the 30th October, 1822. On the same day he 
formed a new legislative assembly, composed of persons favourable 
10 his wishes and intentions. But he had not skill enough to recon- 
cile his companions in a'-ms to these changes. Several generals 
declared against his proceedings, and prepared for resistance. Itur- 
bide, terrified at the storm which was ready to burst on all sides, 
called together the old congress, abdicated in March, 1823, and went 
to Europe, whence, however, he returned to Mexico in 1824. He 
had been outlawed by the congress, and upon landing on the coast 
he was shot at Padilia, in Tamaulipas. 

Mexico was thus left without a regular form of government, or 
even a constitution, affairs being managed provisionally by Bravo, 
Victoria, and Xegrete. But on the 24th of October, 189 i, a consti- 
tution uniting the sixteen original states into a Federal Republic, 
was proclaimed by a national convention after a session of fourteen 
months. The first congress assembled at Mexico, (January 1, 1825,) 
and installed General Victoria as President of the nation. 



PARTISAN WARFARE. 



87 



With the exception of some discontents occasioned by pronuncia- 
mentos of Robato, Padre, Arenas, and othe-'s, Victoria's administra- 
tion was encouraging to the friends of republicanism, until his term 
of office had nearly expired. All parties had then merged into two, 
the Escoceses and Yorkinos, or Scotch and York parties — the first 
strongly opposed to republicanism, the second in favour of it. In 
December, 1827, General Bravo placed himself at the head of the 
Scotch party, and marched against the president ; but he was de- 
feated by the latter and banished. In the succeeding election, how- 
ever, the Escoceses elected their presidential candidate Gomez 
Pedraza, by a majority of two votes. The exasperated republicans 
were not disposed to submit to this defeat with a good grace ; and 
even before Pedraza was installed, Santa Anna marched against him 
with a small force. The Indians flocked to the standard of the in- 
surgents, and, on the 4th of December, 1828, a pronunciamento 
was issued in favour of Guerrero, the president's political opponent. 
The city of Mexico was rifled, and Pedraza compelled to fly to 
the United States. Immediately after, congress declared in favour 
of Guerrero for president and Bustainente for vice-president. The 
latter act was most unfortunate. The new administration had 
scarcely gone into operation when the vice-president raised an army, 
induced Santa Anna to join him, overthrew Guerrero, and seized the 
government. Not long after, (September 11, 1829,) Santa Anna 
broke the remaining Spanish influence in Mexico, by the victory of 
Barradas. 

Guerrero was executed by order of the government, in 1831 ; and 
in the following year, Santa Anna took up arms against Bustamenle. 
After various successes, he induced the president to permit the recall 
of Pedraza, who was immediately elevated to his former dignity, 
and served out his term of office. At its expiration, May 15, 1838, 
Santa Anna was elected to succeed him. 

Santa Anna's energy of character and skill as a general were 
known, and dreaded throughout Mexico; but he was subjected to 
the same dangers from insurrections, declarations, and other symp- 
toms of discontent, as his predecessors had been. The most formi- 
dable to the. constitution was the "Plan of Tuluco," substituting a 
central for a federal republic, abolishing the individuality of the 
States, and constituting the chief magistrate a military chieftain. It 
gave rise to the Texan revolution, during which the president 
marched into the disaffected department ; and, after alternate success 



88 



RECENT HISTORY OF MEXICO. 




BUSTAMENTE. 

and ^'saster, was entirely defeated and taken prisoner at San Jacinto. 
On returning from the United States, he found his influence de- 
stroyed, and retired to his farm at Manga de Clavo. Durmg his 
absence and retirement, affairs were conducted by Barragan, Corn, 
and Bustamente. 

The insurrection of Alexia, in 1838, afforded the first opportunity for 
Santa Anna to reappear in public life. The insurgents were de- 
feated, and their leader put to death. The blockade of Vera Cruz 
by the French, during the ensuing winter, was another step towards 
regaining popularity. He there received a severe wound in the leg, 
which rendered amputation necessary ; but this mischance he knew 
well how to appropriate to his own benefit. 

In July, 1840, Urrea attempted to overthrow the government, but 
was defeated ; but one year after, Valentia, Lombidini, Ahman, Pa- 
'edes, and Santa Anna, pronounced against Bustamente. This revo- 
lution was one of the most fearful of all that have distracted Mexico 
since the days of the viceroys. The armitro ^oujrht more than a 
month in the streets of the capital, after which it was suojected tu 



CIVIL WAR. 



89 




A £ A M A N. 



bombardment. The president was finally overthrown, and Sania 
Anna inaugurated military dictator, (January 1, 1841.) 

The dictator held his power with great firmness until 1843, when 
ne ordered Paredes to be arrested at Tula, in consequence of his 
having joined Valencia in a proposed insurrection. This nieasure 
incensed the friends of Paredes, and they collected in small parties 
preparatory to revolting. The dictator then changed his policy, and 
invited the general to accept the government of Sonora and Sinaloa. 

This, however, was ineffectual ; and, leaving Canalizo at the capi- 
tal, Santa Anna marched against the insurgents. A civil war was 
the consequence. This was ended by the indiscreet zeal of Cana- 
lizo, who, on the 2d of December, 1844, closed the sitting of con- 
gress, and declared Santa Anna supreme dictator. Incensed at 
this act, the people and army rose, en masse^ imprisoned Canalizo, 
and caused Herrera to be proclaimed president, by congress, Santa 
Anna was left almost entirely alone, and, after the most violent 
efforts at the head of a small torce, he was taken prisoner, Afiei 

12 h2 



90 



RECENT HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



^ong deliberation, congress condemned him to perpetual exile. In 
June, 1845, he embarked for Havana, in company with his wife, 
nephew, and a few friends. 

Congress now proclaimed a general amnesty, and passed a vote 
recognising the independence of Texas, on condition of its not be- 
coming a part of the United States. This state of quiet was of short 
duration. The separation of Texas from the parent government 
was, of all measures, the most unpopular in Mexico ; and soon Pa- 
redes, aided by Arista, was in arms against Herrera. The latter 
was deposed, Paredes assumed the reins of government, and the 
United States minister was ordered from the country. In the ensu- 
ing war, Paredes marched with the army to the north, leaving the 
management of affairs in the hands of General Bravo. His efforts 
were attended with uninterrupted misfortune, and the nation again 
turned its gaze towards Santa Anna, as the only one capable to 
retrieve its disgraces. Vera Cruz and other cities declared for him, 
and General Salas assuming provisional authority, imprisoned Pare- 
des, and invited Santa Anna lo return. He arrived at Vera Cruz, 
August, 1846, and was immediately appointed president and dicta- 
tor. His subsequent public career, together with that of his country, 
is identified with the recent war waged against the United States, of 
which a history will be given in a subsequent part of this volume 



PBDBO ALVA.BA.DO 



CHAPTER VL 

CENTRAL AMERICA. 

HE term Central America is usually 
applied to the region formerly known 
as Old Guatimala. In a geograpiiical 
sense, however, it may be applied still 
more extensively, including the pro- 
vinces of Guatimala. Yucatan, and 
the Balize 

Guatimala is an extensive region, 
stretching between the Pacific Ocean 
and Carribean Sea, from the southern 
boundary of Mexico, to the Isthmus 
of Darien, In its climate, soil, productions, and geographical fea- 
tures, it much resembles the West Indies, except that the Andes 
render it one of the most mountainous of American countries. The 
western shore is subject to the most violent earthquakes ; the inte 
rior is but little known. Pohtically, it is divided into the states oi 
Guatimala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. 

81 




92 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 



Guatimala was discovered at the same time with Mexico ; but ft 
is doubtful whether it was ever a part of that empire. The origin 
of its people and of their civilization is unknown. The same marks 
of national industry, the same massive ruins, great cities, temples, 
and palaces, the same order and regular government, prevailed here 
as in the north ; but over them was thrown the same mystic veil 
which hid from eager gaze the inner and more interesting truths of 
their origin. Tradition among the natives pointed to a party of 
Toltecas from Mexico, as the original settlers, and even preserves 
the name of Nimaquiche, as the chief who led the party from Tula 
to their new abode. At the time of the Mexican conquest, Kicab 
Tanub, an alleged descendant of Nimaquiche reigned in Utatlan, the 
principal seat cf the Quiches or primitive inhabitants of the coun- 
try. This chief, who appears to have been of a most a. tive warlike 
nature, was then enraged in hostilities with ihe neiirhbourinor nations, 
called Mams, Zutugiles, and even with Sinacam, a king of Gua- 
timala. 

After the conquest of Mexico, Cortes despatched Alvarado against 
the southern countries, with three hundred infantry, and thirty-five 
Norsemen, two hundred Tlascalans and Cholulans, and a hundred 
Mexicans. His artillery numbered four pieces. Such was the 
army destined to conquer provinces who numbered their warriors by 
hundreds of thousands. This army commenced its march in 1523, 
moved through the region of Socunusco and penetrated to the city 
of Xetulul in the Palahunoh chain of mountains. This, togethei 
with its fortress, was soon captured. On the banks of the Zomala 
the troops were suddenly attacked by a numerous body of Indians 
who, discharging stones and arrows upon them, compelled the 
auxiliaries to fall back. A discharge of musketry soon drove the 
Bssailants to their retreat jn the mountains; but at short intervals they 
renewed the attack, seriously retarding the progress of the invaders. 

HE news of this formidable invasion surprised Kicab 
Tanub in the midst of his military operations. His 
anxiety at so imminent a calamity absorbed all other 
feelings, and he determined immediately to conclude 
peace with the neighbouring chieftains. A plan for 
peace, and a general coalition against the invaders was sent to thera ; 
but so far was it from being accepted, that Sinacam openly declared 
himself the friend and ally of the Spaniards, or gods, as they we/e 
called. The king of the Zutugiles fiercely replied that he was 




OPERATIOXS OF TECUM UMAN. 



03 




KIOAB TANUB. 



Strong enough to defend his own territory against any enemy; and 
thus Kicab Tanub saw himself reduced to the necessity, not only of 
contending with his former enemies, but also with the Spaniards. 

Undismayed by the gathering storm, the king applied himsek 
diligently to finding means to avert it; but in the midst of his pre- 
parations, he sickened and died. His eldest son. Tecum Uman, had 
just ascended the throne, when he received intelligence that the 
Spaniards had quitted Soconusco, and were marching toward Xela- 
huh, (Gluczaltenango.) This place was the best fortified and most 
important of any in Utatlan, containing a garrison of twenty-five 
thousand men. To m.aintain this position was a matter of no little 
importance ; and to that end Tecum Uman determined to direct all 
his efforts. 

He, accordingly, issued from his capital in great pomp, surrounded 
by the nubles of the kingdom, and at the head of seventy thousand 
men, under his best general, Ahzul. Eighty thousand joined him at 
Chemequina; and at Gluezaltenango, where he came in sight of the 
Spaniards, his force was swelled to two hundred and thirty thousand 
fighting men. 

Without waiting for offers of negotiation, the king determined at 
once to give battle. His preparations for this issue prove that the 
determination was not a bHnd confidence in superior numbers — the 
vk) frequent error q *he Indian armies. He chose the field of 



94 CENTRAL AMERICA. 

Tzaccaha, and began fortifjnng it with the greatest are and preci 
sion. A wall, bordered by a deep ditch, was extended around its 
entire circuit; and in front of the ditch were planted rows of poi 
soned missiles, designed to interrupt and disorder an t ne my's ranks. 
Thus intrenched, the Gluiches awaited the advance ( f their power- 
ful antagonists. 

HE Spaniards approached Xelahuh 
with the utmost caution, in order to 
avoid surprise. In \A'inding through 
the mountains, now known as Santa 
Maria de Jesus, they encountered, 
very unexpectedly, a host of Indians 
who barred the pas.*aire. The table- 
land above was in like manner swarm- 
ing with warriors. Soon the wild 
passes of the Cordilleras rang with the shouts of tens of thousands, 
and the two armies joined in a fierce and bloody struggle. Victory 
declared for the invaders, and, filing through the ravine, they recom- 
menced their march. But their toil had only be^un. At every 
pass, a new battle was offered ; every peak and crag rained down 
showers of missiles, and the whole mountain ran^e seemed con- 
verted into a hostile camp. Six engagements took place between 
Zamala and the river Olintepec. The last was fought :n a defile on 
the river shore. The slaughter was so terrible that ;;ireams of blood 
ran down into the water, staining it for many yards along the banks, 
thus giving rise to the present significant name r,[ Xiquigel, or 
bloody river. In a subsequent action, the Gluiches fought with such 
desperate valour, that, forgetting all discipline, they seized the 
horses of the Spaniards by the mane, and struggled to overturn both 
steed and rider. Two days after, the victors entered Xelahuh which 
was found deserted. In a little while, however, the inhabitants re- 
turned and concluded a treaty with the new occupants. 

The great battle between Alvarado and the Quiches took place on 
the following day. The first shock was terrible ; and for a time the 
Spaniards seemed in danger of being defeated ; but, as the crowds 
of their opponents continued to pour on, they became so densely 
packed, that exertion was almost impossible. Hundreds were 
mowed down in passive slaughter. The battle was not restored 
until the Spaniards had cut an opening into the living mass with 
iheir weapons. The vast multitude swayed to and fro like tha 




UNSUCCESSFUL STRATAGEM. % 




GREAT BATTLE BETWEEN ALVARADO AND THE QUICHKS 

Dcean. and a wild uproar rose upon the air, and rolled from rock to 
rock of those lofty plains. The king behaved in a manner worthy 
his cause and station ; and, at length, singling out Alvarado, he 
rushed upon him and engaged in a furious personal encounter. 
Th^ horse of the Spanish general was struck dead ; and, for a while, 
he was himself in iniminent danger. He finally overturned his 
opponent with his lance. But, instead of being discouraged by the 
deaih of their king, the Cluiches threw themselves upon the Spa- 
nish cavalry, and grasping the horses, struck maddened but vain 
blows with their hands. The steeds with theii riders plunged 
breast-high among piles of dead bodies; and the giound in the im 
mediate scene of battle was one great pool of blood Discipline al 
last prevailed ; and the rout of that day was total. 

These great reverses were not sufficient to dampen the spirit of 
'.he Gluiches. King Chignauivcelut, successor of Tecum Umaw. 
■ordered a great council to assemble at Utatlan, to deliberate upon 
( uure measures. It was there resolved to abandon open force, and 
7 



96 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 



attempt to draw the invaders into a snare. Accordingly, the ting 
sent a solemn embassy to Alvarado, announcing the submission of 
the kingdom, and offering a rich present in gold. Overjoyed at this 
news, Alvarado received the envoys with high distincti( n ; and, on 
being invited in the king's name to visit the city and repose after 
his fatigues, he cordially assented, and dismissed them with presents 
to the monarch. 

On the following day, the army commenced its march for Utatlan, 
eJated with the prospect of speedy peace. After entering, they be- 
held, to their surprise, that their road lay through a narrow street, 
ommanded by heavy fortifications, and flanked by ditches; that the 
women and children had all been removed ; and that anxiety and 
trepidation displayed themselves among the inhabitants. Suspicions 
of treachery arose, and were soon confirmed by the Indians of Que- 
zaltenango, who had discovered that the enemy had resolved on 
firing the city during the night. They also affirmed that large 
numbers of warriors were concealed in the neighbouring defiles, 
ready to fall upon all who should escape the flames. 

iN this perplexing extremity, Alvarado called a coun- 
cil of war, and announced to his officers the dangers 
of their situation, and the necessity of an immediate 
retreat from the city. This was instantly agreed 
upon. Without any appearance of fear or agita- 
tion, the troops issued forth in good order and gained 
'^Jieai the plain. So abrupt a departure necessarily asto- 
-^;^^^^=^ nished the king: but Alvarado excused himself by 
alleging that the pasturage of the plains was. in the evening, indis- 
pensable to the horses. The king still continued his pacific pohcy ; 
but in the eagerness to free the land from its invaders, he over- 
stepped the bounds of prudence, and committed a fatal error. He 
accompanied Alvarado to the plain. Hardly had that leader placed 
himself in sa.^ety, when he seized the monarch, brought him to 
speedy trial, and, on the same evening, hung him in the presence 
of both armies. By this decisive step, it was thought the Indians 
would have been awed into submission ; but the result was far other- 
wise. 

The various forces of the Quiches, as though by common consent, 
poured down upon the Spaniards, and a contest ensued in which 
the latter found themselves attacked on all sides. But, although 
mpropitious at first, the battle soon turned in favour of the inva- 




FOUNDING OF ST. JAGO. 



ders, and, broken down by repeated failures, the Indians now im- 
plored mercy. From that time the empire of Utatlan was con- 
quered. 

This victory was gained May 14, 1524. A small chapel was 
hastily constructed on the field of battle, and the next day, being 
Easter, the army attended a solemn celebration of mass. Thus waa 
the Catholic religion introduced into Guatimala. 

Anxious to conciliate the Indians, Alvarado now appointed a suc- 
cessor to Chignauivcelut. About the same time, he received offers 
of congratulation and alliance from Sinacum, whom he resolved to 

visit. Leaving Jean de Leon Cardona 
in command of Utatlan, he marched 
for Guatimala, with a numerous es- 
cort, met the king on the road, and 
both leaders with their forces entered 
the capital in company. Here, for 
the first time, the Spaniards enjoyed 
that rest of which they had so long 
been desirous. 

After remaining in the city for some 
time, Alvarado yielded to the entrea- 
ties of his host, and accompanied him 
in an expeditinu against the warlike 
tribe of the Zutiigiles. These were 
overthrown in several battles, and their 
chief city taken. On returning to the 
capital by a new route, the Spaniards 
arrived (July 24, 1524) at a place named Atmulunca, or Almolunga. 
The picturesque beauty of this place, the rich meadows extending 
far into the interior, watered by hundreds of sparkling streams, the 
high mountains rising from both sides of the country and rushing 
up to heaven, either wrapped in never-melting snows or in flame 
and smoke, so charmed the Spaniards, that, with cne consent, they 
determined to establish here a permanent colony. Aided by the 
'Mexicans and the Tlascalans, they laid the rough foundations ; and 
on the 25th of July, the day dedicated to the great Spanish patron, 
the troops attended divine service in the church which they had 
raised. The founding of the city was attended by rejoicings which 
lasted three consecutive days. On the 29th, the alcaydes and magis- 
tiates were installed ; and on the I2ih of August, the public fnno- 

13 I 




98 



CENTRAL AMERICA 




CELEBRATION OF THI FOUNDING OF ST. JAGG. 



tionaries and other persons, to the number of eighty-seven, were 
enrolled as citizens. Such was the origin of St. Jago. 

Alvarado now turned his attention to the various tribes who w^ere 
not yet conquered, but whose, subnriission was essential to the secu- 
rity of Spanish authority. In the following year, some of these 
submitted, and others the Spaniards artfully involved in war among 
themselves The province of Esquintla, laying on the Pacific, 
ofTered more serious resistance ; so that in a great battle fought at 
night, although the Spaniards had surprised the foe, their whole 
force was engaged five hours in hut contest, and was even repulsed 
They then barbarously threatened the Indians with burning thei/ 
plantations of cacao and maize. The unhappy natives, dismayed at 
the prospect of immediate famine, submitted without further resist- 
ance. By the end of December, the campaign had terminated. 
Alvarado returned to the capital of the Cachiquels, laden wnth wealih' 
and glory. The rapidity of his movements had been no less sur- 
prising than the ease with which he had conquered the Indian 
armies. He had subjected the important provinces of Zonzonate, 
Custatlan, (San Salvador,) and Chapparasiic, or, San Miguel. The 
greater part of the JPacific shore acknowledged the authority o*" 



CAPTURE OF MIXCO. 




Spain. At the same time, Alvarado's brother, Gonzalo, had de« 
feated the Mams in several battles, took possession, after a bloody 
siege, of the important fortress of Socolbo, entered Giiegiietenango, 
and carried his victorious arms throughout the province of Totoni- 
capan. 

^?rv^^ HE fortress of Mixco, which was 
always considered impregnable 
by the Indians, was situated on 
a high perpendicular rock, the 

/'^'""'^A^^^^iif^^^^SI®!, ^^^^ access to which was so narrow 

as to permit but one man to pass at 
a time. A small force could de- 
fend it against an entire army, by 
merely throwing down rocks upon 
the assailants. The first detach- 
ment sent against this place was so 
disheartened by its strength and the 
apparent impossibility of making any impression upon the works, 
that they determined to abandon it. But the arrival of Pedro Alva- 
rado in camp changed the appearance of affairs. That intrepid general 
immediately called a council of war, over which he presided in per- 
son, and which determined on a vigorous prosecution of the siege. 
The Spaniards now resorted to stratagem, but in this they were 
foiled with considerable loss. Their cause now appeared hopeless, 
and it is more than probable that they would finally have been com- 
pelled to relinquish the undertaking, had not the caciques of Chig- 
nanta appeared in camp, demanded a peace, and informed the Spa- 
nish general of a subterranean passage leading from the citadel tr. 
the bank of a neighbouring river, by which the garrison could 
escape should the fortress be captured. This infused new life into 
the besiegers. A general attack was made on the heights by the 
army, marching in single file, while a detachment posted itself at 
the mouth of the subterranean passage to intercept stragglers. The 
fortress was finally carried by storm, and the Indians, with their 
wives and httle ones, either killed or captured. The works were 
then entirely destroyed. 

The submission of the country being now complete, Alvarado 
determined on returning to Spain and announcing his conquests U 
Charles V. But, when on the eve of departing, he received notice 
that Cortes had arrived in the province of Honduras ; and deeming 



100 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 




OBAHLBS V. 



11 hiS duty to visit his superior, he set out (February, 1526) for thai 
purpose. On reaching Choluteca, he met a detachment of Spanish 
troops coining from Honduras, and was informed that Cortes had 
returned to Mexico. Not being able to follow him so far, Alvarado 
seems to have abandoned, for a while, the idea of visiting Europe, 
and returned to Guatimala. 

tie found the country, which had been left so peacefully, in a 
slate of the most violent excitement. His brother, Gonzalo, who had 
ruled in his absence, had, by his cruelty and tyranny, especially 
toward the Indians, alienated all parties from him. The king of 
Gluiche, Sequechul, with King Sinacum, were gathering the differ- 
ent native tribes for a desperate effort to shake off' the yoke of 
bondage. 

Alvarado immediately adopted the most energetic measures to 
suppress so formidable a rebellion. Confident of the support of all 
Spaniards, he marched against the Indians, and in a great battle, 
(November 22, 1526,) he completely routed them, taking the two 
kings prisoners. The unfortunate princes, by fifteen years of haru 
captivity, expiated the unpardonable crime of having washed to re- 
cover independence for themselves and their oppressed people. 

This victory broke the spirits of the Indians inhabiting the conquered 
provinces, and from this time they seemed willing to acknowledge the 
authority of Spain. In proportion, however, as this danger decreased 



DEATH OF ALVARADO 



101 



a far more formidable evil began to display itself. This was dis^en- 
s on among the conquerors — the almost inseparable sequel to Spa- 
nish conquests. The difficulty of defining boundary lines between 
different provinces was one fruitful source of these disturbances. 
Either by accident or design, petty rulers encroached on the terri- 
tory of others; and several rich provinces were claimed simulta- 
neously by numerous competitors. These claims kept the whole 
country in a state of civil war, until Decjmber, 1527, when Alva- 
rado received from the emperor the office of captain-general of Gua- 
timala, an appointment which rendered him independent of Cortes. 
The energetic, and often oppressive rule of this officer restored in a 
great measure the general tranquillity. The influences of religion 
were added to his own efforts. In 1537, the execution of a most 
extensive plan for the conversion of the Indians was commenced by 
a number of missionaries, at the head of whom was the celebrated 
Las Casas. They visited nations hitherto unconquerable, and by 
inducing them to accept Christianity, opened an easy way to a cor- 
dial recogniti{;n of Spanish authority. These labours were conti- 
nued through great difficulties, by themselves and successors, for 
upwards of a century: and to them, as much as to the mail-clad 
warriors, was owing the Spanish ascendency in Central America. 

The year 1541 was signalized by the death of Pedro Alvarado. 
After this event, the emperor established an audience, (November 
20, 1542,) or supreme tribunal, of which Alonzo de Maldonado was 
named president. The seat of this court was fixed at Vailadolid de 
Coinayagua, but subsequently transferred to Gracias-a-Dios. In 
1555, It was again removed to Guatimala, then to Panama, and 
finally to me capital. The tranquillity which the genius of Alvarado 
had secured to the province was buried with him. Faction, exas- 
perated by the temporary obstruction, broke out fiercer than ever. 
Public morals were depreciated to the very lowest scale. Justice 
was but a name — crimes of the deepest and darkest dye were com- 
mitted with impunity, and the criminals bought off from retribution 
by trifling sums. The Indians were treated as brutes — in short, all 
government was at an end — anarchy, crime, and reckless audacity 
rioted over the ruins of the Indian civilization. Such was the con- 
dition of affairs for a great portion of the long period of the Spanish 
dominion in Guatimala, till at last the country was ripe for revo- 
ution. 

The first symptoms of dissatisfaction exhibited by the Indians and 

12 



102 



CENTRAL AMEKICA. 




ALONZO D3 UALDONADO 



Others, was after the invasion of Spain by France, in 1H08. Tfi'? 
deepest anxiety was manifested throughout the whole of the Penin- 
sular War, and the subsequent continental struggles. But after the 
fall of Napoleon, hardly had Spain adopted a constitution when Gua- 
timala, anxious to extirpate the remnant of absolute tyranny, appro- 
priated the same one to herself without any alteration. But the 
formation of a junto in the following year, with absolute power to 
settle "indispensable" measures, gave rise to two parties, one in 
favour of entire emancipation from both Spain and Mexico; the 
other advocating the installation of the Bourbon family on the throne 
of Central America. The old Spanish party, supported by Leon, 
the capital of Nicaragua, and Comayagua, capital of Honduras, 
were in favour of the latter course ; but the greater part of the cities 
and provinces adhered to the act of independence proclaimed by the 
'unta. 

Such was the situation of affairs when, on the 19th of October, 
1821, Iturbide, Emperor of Mexico, addressed to the inhabitants of 
Guatimala a manifesto, in which, after having complimented them 
on their independence, he announced, that to consolidate their grow- 
ing liberties, he would direct a numerous body of troops to theii 



REPUBLIC FORMED. 



103 



frontiers. This strange proclamation was not received by the inde- 
pendents as favourably as the emperor had wished ; but ihe influen 
tial members of the Spanish party solicited his protection, changing 
the appellation of his troops from that of servants to imperialists. 
This faction chose as their chief, Filisola, president of the junta ; 
and by him the proclamation of Iturbide was distributed through- 
out the different provinces. Not satisfied with this, he joined with 
it an invitation to the people, to merge their nationality into that 
of Mexico ; and he even took upon himself the responsibility, as 
president of the junta, to declare the union effected, (January 11. 
1822.) 

The indignation of the people at this arbitrary stretch of power 
rose to the utmost pitch. The junta was dissolved. The president 
marched with sonie troops against St. Salvador, but was completely 
beaten, (Jul}' 3.) Defeated a second time by the people of the same 
province, (February 23, 1823,) he reconmienced his niarch to Gua- 
timala, where he received news of the revolution which had preci- 
pitated Iturbide from the imperial throne. The blow was astound- 
ing — his last hope was gone ; he immediately gave up all resistance 
and consented to the act of independence. A national convention 
having immediately assembled, ordered the Mexican troops to leave 
the country. Filisola led them out in person, taking possession, 
during his march, of the province of Chiapa, which he claimed foi 
Mexico. This act was afterwards made good by Mexico, and Chi- 
apa has ever since remained a fruitful source of dissension between 
the two countries. 

This obstacle being removed, the National Assembly met again 
on the 24Ln of June, 1S23. Complete independence was declared 
on the 21st of July, and on the 17th of December, the basis of a 
new constitution, modelled after that of the United States, was pro 
claimed to the nation. The republic was styled the " United Pro- 
vinces of Central America." On the 6ih of September, lb24. 
Congress completed the basis of the confederation at Costa Rica , 
nine days after, (loth,) the Federal Congress was installed ; and on 
the 22d of November, the constitution was solemnly signed by the 
deputies. 

Thus Guatimala had proclainied her freedom, and established a 
republican constitution ; but, very soon, she was to learn by bitter 
experience, that something more than these is necessary to secure 
the trjinquillity and happiness of ttie peoj.le. Hardly had the inr^tru- 



lOi 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 




F L O R H 9. 

ment of independence been signed, when fierce part}' spirit again 
sowed seeds of discord among the populace. The citizens were 
divided into aristocrats, or Centralists, and Federalists. The former 
wished to consolidate and centralize the powers of the general go- 
vernment. They were composed principally of influential families, 
who, pampered, during the domination of the Spaniards, with pri- 
vileges and exorbitant monopolies, had gradually imbibed the state 
and feelings of the European nobility. The Federalists, on the con- 
trary, weio led by men, young and energetic, many of whom were 
actuated by an ardent love of country, a desire to set her free, and a 
disgust at the former civil oppression. They advocated the supremacy 
of the states, and freedom of conscience in rehgious matters. At the 
third session of congress, the two parties came to an open rupture. 
Soon after, the vice-president, Flores, visited the city of duezalte- 
nango, where he had rendered himself odious by his republican 
principles, and by levying a contribution on its convent. Seeing him 
in their city, the religious orders now excited the common people 
against him, and soon an infuriated mob were before nis house ex- 
claiming, " Death to the heretic." Flores ran to the church ; but, 
w hen entering, he was seized by some women, his face and head 
'jriVHwiy beaten, and his life placed in the most imminent danger 



REPUBLICANS AXD CENTRALISTS. 



106 



By desperate exertions, he escaped into the church; bat even here 
he was not secure. The bell rung, crowds collected from all quar- 
ters, and, although opposed by the soldiery, forced their way into the 
church. Fearful of the result, the priest came forward with a cru- 
cifix, and implored the people to spare the officer, promising to send 
him immediately from the city. The unhappy man confirmed these 
words on his knees. But all was of no avail. The populace rushed 
upon him, dragged him into the convent, and delivered him into the 
hands of its women. He soon expired under their dreadful treat 
nients, and the body was submitted to the insults of the mob 
Crowds then rushed through the streets, exclaiming, "Viva la reli- 
gion — death to the heretics of congress." Encouraged by this suc- 
cess, the Centralists of the province of Guatimala rose in open 
rebellion, and extirpated the Republicans. 

These outraores roused the indignation of the inhabitants of St. 
Salvador, who resolved to avenge the patriots of Guatimala. Ac- 
cordingly, on the 6th of March, 1^27, their army appeared before 
the gales of the capital, and threatened it with complete destruction. 
But religious fanaticism was too powerful to be easily intimidated. 
The priests ran, exhorting the people to take arms; the nuns and 
other women assembled with knives in their hands, swearing that 
every enemy of their religion should perish by their hands. The 
army of St. Salvador was in the issue entirely defeated. 

The other provinces of Guatimala were in a like condition. In 
Nicaragua, the streets were barricaded, the chief Centralist and his 
soldiers massacred, part of the city burned to the ground, and the 
two parties so exasperated against each other that, for three months, 
even an atLbassador could not be sent from one to the other. At 
Leon and Taguzgalpa, horror and desolation reigned supreme. The 
war continued with but little intermission for two years, at which 
time (1829) the troops of Si. Salvador, und';r General Morazan, 
again marched against Guatimala. After ihree days' continual 
battle, the city was taken. A scene of ste a retribution followed. 
The leaders of the Centralists were exiled, ' convents opened and 
sacked, monastic orders abolished, the nu.:S sent from the country, 
and the archbishop driven into exile. 

In 1831, Morazan was elected president of the republic; and for 
eight years managed the public affairs with a degree of quiet long 
unknown to the country. But at the expiration of his second term, 
iigns of faction began to reappear. Many of the banished Central- 

14 



106 



CEOTRAL AMERICA. 



itjts had maimained a correspondence with those at home, sonne even 
venturing to return. These attentively watched an opportunity to 
recover their lost ascendency. They found a leader ai the notori- 
ous Carrera, a mulatto, who, from an obscure station, had raised 
himself to the command of numerous parties who infested the aigh- 
roads. This individual kept the country in a state of continual fer- 
ment, and, though often defeated, he still managed to rally round 
him the priests, Indians, and most of the Centralists. The capital 
and other cities were several times taken, and shocking excesses com- 
mitted on the opposite faction. Morazan was finally driven into 
exile, and with him fell the republican party. Since this time Gua- 
timala has exhibited little more than a scene of national misrule, 
anarchy, and bloodshed. 

Yucatan is an extensive peninsula running up into the Gulf of 
Mexico, between the bays of Campeachy and Honduras. It is 
not remarkable for the fertility of its soil, and is without mineral 
wealth. In the central parts, where there are no s'reams, when 
the rainy season fails, the people sulfer greatly from deficient crops. 

This country owes its discovery to Juan Diaz de' Solis, and a com- 
panion of Columbus, named Vincent Yanez Pinzon. These adven- 
turers were fired by Ponce de Leon's success in Puerto Rico, and 
obtained leave to perform a voyage to the continent. As far as the 
island of Guanaios, they held the same course that Columbus had 
taken ; but standing thence to the west, they discovered a new and 
extensive province, and proceeded a considerable w^ay along its coast. 
This was the modern Yucatan. No settlement was at that time 
efl^ected, the voyagers contenting themselves with exploring portions 
of the shore. 

OR some time after this discovery, the Spa- 
niards were deterred from availing them- 
selves of it, by the disasters experienced 
by Ponce de Leon, and other adventurers. 
The prudent administration of Diego Ve- 
lasquez in Cuba had rendered it one of the' 
most flourishing of Spanish settlements ; 
and many persons from other colonies were 
allured thither. As the ocean stretch- 
ing to the west of Cuba had not hitherto 
been explored, this circumstance invited adventurers to attempt new 
discoveries. Instigated by the desire of obtaining sudden wealth by 




EXPEDITION OF CORDOVA. 



107 




JUA.N DIAZ DE SOLI 3. 



d^eds of darinfr, several officers who had served under Pedrarias. m 
Darien, entered into an association to undertake a voyage of disco- 
very. Velasquez not only approved their design, but assisted in 
carrying it on — he and an opulent planter named Cordova, advanc- 
ing the money to purchase three small vessels, with materials for 
traffic or war. On board of these a hundred and ten men embarked 
and sailed from St. Jago, February 8, 1517. On the twenty-first day 
after their departure, they reached Cape Catoche, the most eastern 
point of Yucatan. As they approached the shore, five canoes met 
them, bearing people clad in cotton garments — a circumstance that 
excited the wonder of the Spaniards. Cordova offered them small 
presents, and endeavoured to gain their good will. Though evi 
dently amazed at their strange visitors, the Indians invited them 
with an appearance of cordiality, to visit their habitations. Accord 
m^Iy, the adventurers landed, and as they advanced into the country 
were struck by the sight of white stone houses. But they fooa 



108 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 



found that if the people had made progress in improvement beyond 
their countrymen, they were likewise more artful and warlike. 
For though the cacique had received Cordova with many tokens of 
friendship, he had posted a considerable body of his subjects in am- 
bush, behind a thicket, who, upon a signal givr>n by him, rushed out 
and attacked the Spaniards with great boldness and some degree of 
martial order. Fifteen of the latter were wounded ; but their fire- 
arms soon compelled the assailants to fly. Cordova regained his 
shipping and quitted the spot, carrying with him two natives, and 
the wealth of a small temple which he had plundered. 

Continuing their course toward the west, without losing sight of 
the coast, they arrived, on the sixteenth day, at Campeachy. There 
they were received with more hospitality ; but water beginning to 
fail, they proceeded along what was still thought to be an island, 
until they arrived at the mouth of a river at Potonchan. Here all 
the troops were landed in order to protect the sailors while Sllino- the 
casks, but, notwithstanding this precaution, the natives rushed down 
upon them with such fury, and in such overwhelming numbers, that 
forty-seven Spaniards were killed upon the spot, and the remainder, 
with but a single exception, in some manner injured. The com- 
mander received twelve wounds; but he conducted the retreat with 
admirable skill and courage. On regaining their vessels, they im- 
mediately set sail for Cuba. During the passage thither, their 
wounds, exposed to a burning sun, brought on a sickness, which 
was increased to the most dreadful height b}^ the want of water. 
Some died by the way, and the commander expired soon after arriv- 
ing at Cuba. 

_=^^g^^=^ HESE disasters did net discourage the Spaniards. 

The sight of gold wrought into curious shapes, the 
reports of nations advanced into civilization, and the 
hope of suddenly grasping a fortune, induced many 
to offer themselves for a new expedition. Velasquez 
fitted out four ships at his own expense. Two hun- 
dred and forty volunteers, among whom were men of rank and for- 
tune, embarked in this enterprise. It was conimanded by Juan de 
Grijalva, a young officer of tried courage, who was instructed to 
barter for gold, and, if possible, attempt a settlement. Sailing from 
St. Jago, (April 8, 1518,) he steered in a direction with the former 
expedition, but was driven by contrary currents to the island ol 
Cozumel, the inhabitants of which fled at his approach. He affam 




EXPLORATION OF YUCATAN. 109 

put to sea, rounded Cape Catouche and reached Potonchan. Here 
he determined to land and avenge his fallen countrymen in such a 
manner as would strike terror among all the surrounding tribes. 
But, though he employed all his troops in this attempt, aiding them 
with some field-pieces, the Indians fought with such courage that a 
victory over them was gained with difficulty. Th*^ Spaniards then 
re-embarked, and continued their voyage. The beauty of the coun- 
try and the novelty of Indian towns and cities excited their wonder 
and admiration. In the numerous villages scattered along the coast, 
many stone houses were observed, which at a distance appeared 
white and lofty. In the warmth of their feelings, they denominated 
the country New Spain, a name by which it was known in Europe 
for more than three centuries. 

Proceeding to the southward, they found the natives more friendly, 
and at Guazaca they were perfumed with incense of gum-copal, 
and treated with the most flattering attentions. In six days, they 
exchanged European trinkets for curiously wrought ornaments of 
gold, worth fifteen thousand pesos. The Spaniards now learned, foi 
the first time, the existence of Montezuma, the great monarch to 
whom this province and the neighbouring ones was subject. Re- 
embarking, Grijalva continued his course toward the west, and, on 
the 19th of June, landed on a small island, where he beheld, foi 
the first time, the horrid spectacle of huinan victims offered to a 
deity. He named this spot the Isle of Sacrificios, and a neighbour 
ing one San Juan de Ulua. From this place he despatched Pedro 
de Alvarado, one of his officers, to Velasquez, with a full account of 
his important discoveries, and all the treasure acquired by traffic 
with the natives. With the remaining vessels he proceeded along 
the coast to the river Panuco; but finding it impossible to plant a 
colony, he returned to Cuba, October 20, 1518. 

Yucatan was conquered by the Spaniards soon after the over- 
throw of Montezuma's power by Cortes ; its history, therefore, forms 
a part of that of Mexico till ihe year 1839, when symptoms of 
dissatisfaction with the policy of the xMexican republic began to be 
displayed by a party calling themselves Rochelanos. These de- 
manded either a more liberal central government, or entire independ- 
ence. In order to effect the latter, they secretly favoured the move- 
ments of a faction calling themselves Federalists. On the 29th of 
May, a militia captain, named Santiago Iman, raised the revolutionary 
9f.aridard in the village of Tizimin, and declared for the Constitution 

K 



110 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 




SANTIAGO IMAN. 



of 1824. He then marched to Espita, the commandant of vt»,ch 
had agreed to join him, but, on makina a feint attack, the better lo 
conceal his design, Iman found himself drawn into a snare, and 
immediately retreated to San Fernando. Here, at the end of two 
months, he was attacked hy the commandant. The defenders ran 
sway, the assailant entered in triumph, and immediately annou/ced 
to his government, that by a great victory he had ended the revolt. 

Iman now gathered around him a number of Indians, and endea- 
voured to insure their co-operation by a promise of exemption from 
religious contribution. The government then sent against him 
Colonel Roguena with six hundred men, who, after another "de- 
cisive victory," gained because the enemy ran away, entered the 
place in triumph. Partial quiet was preserved until Fc-bruary 11. 
1840, when the insurgents attacked the city of Vailadolid. Here 
were three hundred men under Lieutenant-cohnel Arans. This 
officer appears to have possessed both talent and energy ; but unfor- 
tunately, while marching against the enemy, he was killed. His 
troops inmiediately capitulated. A band of outlaws then took poi- 
session of the city and proclaimed the Constitution of 1824 to be in 
force. The influence of this proclamation soon became contagious. 
Towns, one after another, hailed the new order of things, and were 
strengthenea by the capital itself. In June, Rivas, the commanding 
g^eneraL, surrendered the province of Campeachy, and for a time the 



INDIAN WAR IN YUCATAN. Ill 

country was thus actually separated from Mexico. A new state 
constitution was proclaimed on the 3 1 st of March, 1841. 

During the war between the United States and Mexico, Yucatan 
declared her independence of the latter power, and even discussed pro- 
positions of annexation to her more powerful sister republic. But the 
disorders consequent upon these acts had not yet subsided, when a 
far more formidable danger than Mexican oppression menaced the 
country. This was a general rising of the Indian population — an 
event almost unheard of in the annals of Europa-American nations. 
Early in 1848, all the interior settlements had been abandoned by 
the whites, and an army of sixty thousand Indians was desolating 
the country. Valladolid and Izamel, after being defended for a long 
while, were abandoned in March, and the citizens fled to Merida 
The Yucatoes published a statement of their fearful condition, and 
earnestly invited other nations to help them. The whites have 
mainly recovered their position, and the country is now compara- 
tively quiet. Notwithstanding her declaration of independence, 
Yucatan still continues a part of Mexico 





SAN FK^NCISCO. CA.I.I?OaNIA. 



CIIAPTErv YIT. 

CALIFORNIA. 

^^O^^^^^^t,HE term California was fmnerly applied ex- 
clusively to the narrow strip of land between 
^3 the Pacific Ocean and the Californian Gulf. 
? Now it designates the extensive country 
ranging from latitude 22° 48' to 42° north, 
and between the 107° and 124° of west ion- 
gitude. It is divided into Old, or Lower, 
CahTornia, and New, or Upper, California. 
Old California was unknown to Europeans until 1534, at which 
time Hernando Cortes, the celebrated conqueror of Mexico, equipped 
a small fieet, took the command in person, discovered the Peninsula 
and GuJf of Calif )rnia, and ascended the latter about fifty leagues. 
He named it the Vermillion or Red Sea, and it was subsequently 
etyled, by his countrymen. ».he Sea of Cortes. This voyage waf 




DISCOVERY OF THE COUNTRY. 



113 



unfortunate. By storms and other disasters the conqueror of Mexico 
was not only prevented from planting a colony, but forced to retrace 
his course, and even to abandon the original design of the expedi- 
tion — a north-west passage to the Old World. 

Previous to this, and during the visit of Cortes to Spain, Nunez de 
Guzman had marched with an army from Mexico toward the north- 
west. In his progress, he collected a large quantity of gold, and 
received the submission of many caciques ; but was finally stopped 
by a rugged mountainous country, which he named New Galicia. 
This had induced Cortes, prior to his own expedition, to fit out an 
armament at Acapulco, which he placed under the command of 
Hurtado de Mendoza ; but violent storms, and the misconduct of the 
officers employed, defeated the objects of the expedition. 

Six years after the discovery of California, the viceroy, Mendoza, 
sent an expedition to continue the observations of Cortes. The 
officers are said to have reached the fortieth degree of north latitude, 
where they observed snow-capped mountains on the coast; and, 
according to their own statement, met vessels with gilded yards, sup- 
posed to belong to China or Japan. 

After this period, the burden of conti- 
nental difficulties and South American con- 
quests aff'orded the Spaniards but little 
opportunity to colonize the obscure pro- 
vinces of the remote Pacific. The decline 
of maritime adventure in that nation also 
contributed to the neglect of California. 
The coast was visited, however, by S r 
Francis Drake and other voyagers, and 
the northern coasts partially explored. 
The buccaneers frequently touched upon it, and the neighbouring 
f^cean seems to have been a frequent resort for whaling expeditions. 
Still, for more than a century, no settlement was attempted; and the 
interior of the country remained as little known as though the coast 
had never been touched by a foreign vessel. 

But, notwithstanding this apathy with regard to colonization, a 
field was opened not long after the discovery, which, exciting that 
strongest of all motives, the love of gain, soon brought numerous 
visiters to the adjacent waters. This was the finding of a rich pean 
oyster-bed on the coast. The. pearls abound chiefly in the southern 
part of the peninsula, in the Bay of Seralvo, and around the islands 

15 &2 




114 



CALIFORNIA. 



of Santa Cruz and San Jose. The most valuable pearls in tlie pos- 
session of the court of Spain, were found in 1615 and 1665, by the 
expeditions of Juan Iturbi and Bernal de Pinadero. In 1768 and 
1769, a private soldier, named Juan Ocio, was enriched in a short 
time by fishing on the coast of Seralvo ; but, since that period, the 
number of Californian pearls brought annually to market has been 
reduced almost to nothing. The Indians and negroes who followed 
the severe occupation of divers, were frequently drowned or devoured 
by sharks. 

T length, in 1769, pursuant to the king's 
direction. Admiral Don Isidro Otondo 
undertook the conquest of California. 
He was accompanied by a number of 
Jesuit missionaries, under- Father Euse- 
bio Francisco Kino. The accounts of 
this undertaking are exceedingly meagre; 
but the general owed his ultimate success 
as much to the efforts of the ecclesiastics 
as to those of the soldiers. From it, the 
commencement of the Spanish authority in this province is to be 
dated. The Jesuits settled in the most fertile provinces, and when the 
commotions occasioned by the appearance and designs of the white 
men had in some degree worn away, they entered ardently upon the 
trying task of proselyting the Indians. Persuasion and presents 
were the means commonly used ; where these failed, force was re- 
sorted to. After conversion, each native was required to give ten 
years' faithful service to the missions, after which he was placed at 
liberty, and, on security of good behaviour, allotted a small piece of 
land for cultivation, and a few cattle. But they usually remained in 
the employment of the missions, having become attached to their 
masters and occupations. Their duties consisted cniei]y in taking 
care of cattle, labouring on the farms, gardening, and household 
work. Some were taught trades, and others hired out to service. 
The police of the missions was strict, punishment was administered 
when required, and rewards were given for good behaviour. 

Such was the patriarchal manner in which Cahfornia existed for 
an entire century. Remote from the source of its civilization, it felt 
little of the influence of the parent state, and, indeed, remained 
almost unknown either to Spain or Europe. This accounts for the 
ronflicting statements entertained, for a long period of time, con 




^RLT COLONIZATION. 116 




MONTERST, UPPER CALIFORNIA. 



cernmg its soil, riches, climate, and capabilities. During the revolts in 
1836, the Indians were mostly cast off from the missions, and deprived 
of the fruits of their labour. The country was visited, in 1841, by 
Captain Wilkes, at the head of the United States Exploring Expe- 
dition, who found it to be destitute of ail government. " The 
Indians," he says, "are now committing acts of violence on the 
whites ; they are becoming daily more daring, and have rendered a 
residence in single farm-houses, or estancias, not without danger. 
In looking at the state in which these poor Indians have been left, it 
cannot be denied but that they have cause to be dissatisfied with the 
treatment they have received." 

New California appears first to have been discovered by Cobrillo, 
a Spanish adventurer. He saw the south coast in 1542, and sailed 
for a .short distance towards the north. Thirty -six years after, 
(1578,) Sir Francis Drake went over the same ground, and pursued 
his discoveries much further northward. He called the country 
New Albion. In 1769, it was colonized by the Spaniards ; and the 
Indians were converted principally through the efforts of the Jesu 
us ; and, until 1836, remained a province of Mexico. In November 
ot that year, the citizens of Monterey, the capital, took up arms, 



116 



CALIFORNIA. 




expelled the Mexican garrison, and declared the province indcpena 
ent. A provisional government was established, similar in its gen»» 
ral features to that of the United States. 

California has taken an active part in the Mexican war, against the 
United Slates. The first military operations consequent to that event, 
within the territory, were the result rather of accident than design. 

|APTAIN FREMONT, of the Corps 
of Topographical Engineers, was 
sent by the United States govern- 
ment on an expedition to tUe country 
lying beyond the Rocky Mountains. 
The avowed purpose of this com- 
mand was to find a new pass to Ore- 
gon, and part of the route lay through 
the settled. portion of California. 

On the 29th of June, 1846, Fre- 
mont reached the neighbourhood of 
Monterey, in the upper province, 
where he halted his command, and 
proceeded along to the city, in order 
to acquaint the authorities with his plans, and request permission 
to pass some time in the valley. Permission was granted ; but, 
on reaching the valley of San Joaquin, he learned through xVIr. 
Larkin, the United States agent, that General Castro was about 
to attack him with a considerable force. He then took post a()out 
thirty miles from the city, and, raising the national colours, in- 
formed the Californians that he would defend the place to the last. 
Castro, however, did not attack, and Fremont, after a tedious 
retreat, arrived (May 15, 1846) at the Tlamath lake. This place 
he soon left, in consequence of the appearance of hostile Indians. 
On retracing his steps to the Sacramento river, he ascertained that 
Castro was still in arms against him, and was even preparing an 
expedition against the Americans who had settled in the neighbour- 
hood. In these circumstances, Captain Fremont considered him- 
self authorized to attempt the complete conquest of California, and 
its annexation to the United States. This was on the 6th of June. 
War already existed between the United States and Mexico, but of 
ihis fact the captain had not yet been apprized. 

The movements consequent to this resolution were rapid and bril- 
iiant The g^arrison at Zanona was captured, together with nine 



COKyCEST BY TUE AMERICANS. 



117 




vt.nnon and two hundred and fifty muskeis. On the 25th of June, 
a part of Castro's army was attacked and completely routed. Op. 
the 4ih of July, Fremont assembled his forces at Zanona, and de- 
clared the independence of the provmce. 

EANWHILE, the American government had 
sent a fleet, under Commodore Sloat, to the 
coast of California, and ordered General Kear- 
ny, with a large forco, to invade the country, 
after having conquered New Mexico. The former 
officer, on anchoring his fleet, landed a con- 
siderable party, and took possession of Mon- 
terey. Here he was joined by Fremont, with a hundred and sixty 
men, the captain being in close pursuit of De Castro. At the same 
time, Commodore Stocktcjn landed on the coast, and proposed a plan 
to intercept the retreating general, by sailing down the coast and 
landing the troops at a proper point. Castro, however, evaded his 
pursuers and riiaiched to Mexico. After this fruitless expedition, 
Stockton, in coii^'uny with Fremont and Mr. Larkin, entered Ciudad 
de los Angelus, and renewed the declaration of freedom for Califor- 
nia. Soon after, General Kearny arrived and assumed the direction 
of affairs. 

But the ease with which the Californias had been subjected to 
foreign influence, was but the calm during which the storm gathers 
its energy. Officers had been appointed in ail the principal towns, 
and entered upon the discharge of duty as though in one of the 
L'nited States ; but they were soon to learn that something more 
than a sudden revolution is necessary to insure to a people the bless- 
mgs of republican government. On the loth of January, 1847, ihv 
whole province rose in arms against the new system. At night, 
Governor Bent with twenty-four men were massacred at Fernando 
de Taos. Other murders took place at the same time, and in a few 
days a large number of the Californians were marching upon Santa 
Fe. The commandant of that place. Colonel Sterling Price, placed 
himself at the head of four hundred men, and advanced to meet the 
enemy. He came up with them, placed to the number of fifteen 
hundred, in a strong position, near Covoda. Notwithstanding the 
disparity of force, he gained a com.plete victory, killing or wounding 
fhirty-six of their men, and losing but eight of his own — six of theui 
wounded. A few days after this battle, (January 29ih,) a hundred 
iind eighty of Price's men, under Captain Burgwein, defeated a nuin- 



118 



CALIFORNIA. 



ber of Mexicans, strongly posted at La Joya. Their total loss, ex- 
clus-''fe of prisoners, was eighty. On the 'Sd of February, the vic- 
torious Americans entered triumphantly into the town of Fernando 
de Taos. 

The Me.xican and Californian forces now retired to the village of 
Puebla de Taos, a strong position, whose churches and other build, 
ings were admirably situated for defence. An attack was made by 
the Americans on the afternoon of the 8d, and renewed on the fol- 
lowing morning. At nine o'clock, a cannon and two howitzers were 
opened upon the buildings, and, after a cannonade of two hours, 
two separate charges were made under Captains Burgwein and 
Angrecy ; the former was killed. The Americans attempted to 
scale the walls but failed. They then stormed the church through 
a breach in the wall, fired it, and commenced vigorous measures for 
the reduction of the remaining buildings. Hostilities were termi- 
nated, however, by the submission of the inhabitants. The garrison 
lost about three hundred killed and wounded; the Americans fifty- 
four. 

^^ENERAL KEARNY, during these 
movements of Colonel Price, had 
marched from ' Santa Fe with a 
considerable force, and, after cross- 
ing plains, rivers, mountains, and 
deserts, came up with the eneuiy, 
(December 6, 1846,j at San Pas- 
cual. Upper California. They 
numbered a hundred and sixty, 
under Andreas Pico. The Ame- 
ricans attacked with twelve dra- 
goons, under Captain Johnston, 
fifty under Captain Moore, mount- 
ed on mules, twenty volunteers 
under Captains Gibson and Gilles- 
pie, and two mountain-howitzers under Lieutenant Davidson. 

At break of day, (December 6,) Captain Johnston made a furious 
charge upon the enemy with his advanced guard, and was soon 
after followed by the dragoons. The enemy gave way. They were 
followed by Captain Moore, and the cavalry mounted on mules. 
After retreating about half a mile, the enemy, who were all well 
mounted, suddenly wheeled round and attacked the captain whose 




SUBJECTED TO THE UNITED STATES. 



119 



men were some distance in advance of the others. On account of 
their vastly superior numbers, few of the advance remained un- 
touched. Captain Moore and Lieutenant Hammond were lanced, 
with several other inferior officers. The Mexicans held the ground 
lor some minutes, but were finally repulsed. Besides the officers 
already mentioned, the Americans lost Captain Johnston and sixteen 
men killed ; and sixteen wounded, including General Kearny, Cap- 
tains Gibson and Gillespie, and other officers. 

On the 7th, Kearny resumed his march, and, after being joined 
by Commodore Stockton of the navy, again encountered the enemy, 
(January 8, 1847,) at the San Gabriel. Their force is estimated by 
the general at six hundred men, and four field-pieces, under Go- 
vernor Flores. The Americans crossed the river in face of the 
enemy, stormed the heights, drove the enemy into the open plain, and 
after an action of an hour and a half, remained victors of the hard- 
fought field. Their loss had been trifling. 

On the 9th, the Americans continued their march as far as the 
plains of Mesa. Here the enemy, who, during the day, had hung 
on their front and flanks, opened their artillery, which was answered 
by that of the Americans. After hovering around for about two 
hours, and occasionally skirmishing, the Mexicans concentrated their 
forces, and charged Kearny's left flank, but were repulsed. The 
next day, the Americans entered Ciudad de ios Angelos, without 
opposition. 

Kearney and Stockton now took possession of the province in the 
name of the United States, and published a proclamation regulating 
the government and other matters of both Californias. By the treaty 
of 1848, between Mexico and the United States, Upper California 
and New Mexico were ceded to the latter power, and from that pe- 
riod the history of these countries is included in that of the United 
States. 



PONCa DS LZOS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

FLORIDA. 

LTHOUGH the southern extremity of Florida 
lies so near to the West Indies, yet its existence 
was unknown to the Spaniards for a consider- 
able time after the voyages of Columbus. It 
is supposed to have been visited by Sebastian 
Cabot during his celebrated voyage along the 
American coast; but the principal records of 
this expedition being lost, precludes the possibility of establishing 
this opinion. The hope of reaching the East Indies, or of discover- 
ing empires glittering with oriental luxury, led the Spanish adven- 
turers in a southern or south-west course; and it was not till Terra 
Firma had been examined, and Nunez de Balboa had discovered the 
Pacific, that the Spaniards even suspected the existence of the 
region now forming the United States. 

The glory of discovering Florida belongs to Juan Pence de Leon, 

120 




ADVENTURES OF PONCE DE LEON. 



121 



an adventurer who had accompanied Columbus in his second voy- 
age. He had then won such reputation as to be intrusted with a 
share of the government of Hispaniola, and subsequently with the 
conquest of Porto Rica. But his claims as governor conflicting 
with those of Columbus, he withdrew, and obtained, in compensa- 
tion, Bimini, one of the Bahamas, whicn lay nearest to the conti- 
nent. 

At this place, the veteran received intelligence which decided his 
future destiny. An opinion was then prevalent among the Caribs 
that in one of the West Indies a fountain existed whose waters could 
impart the gift of perpetual youth. In that age of romantic and 
chivalrous adventure, of new-found worlds and empires, it is not won- 
derful that the eager knight should embrace almost any opinion con- 
cerning the mysterious recesses of the lands daily unfolded to view. 
Ponce de Leon immediately embarked in search of the wonderful 
fount. Nearly all the northern islands of the Archipelago were 
visited, and the eagerness of the voyager increased in prup^rtion as 
the fairy waters eluded his grasp. 

HE industrious search after this chime- 
"^^S ' rical object was rewarded in a manner 

totally unexpected. On the 27th of 
March, 1512, the Spaniards came in 
sight of an extensive country, hitherto 
unknown. It being Easter, (Pascua 
Florida,) they named it Florida ; and 
having landed (April 8) near the pre- 
sent site of St. Augustine, they were delighted with its splendid 
vegetation and magnificent forests. Elated with the great discovery, 
De Leon, after sailing down the eastern coast to the southern point, 
repaired to Porto Rico, and thence to Spain, where he laid before 
the king the particulars of the new country, and obtained permis- 
sion to conquer and rule it. 

Had Ponce de Leon been able to sail immediately on his expedition, 
his fate and that of the expedition would probably have been different. 
But circumstances delayed his preparations so long, that nine years 
elapsed before he again appeared in the nei-iibourhood of Florida. 
He was then, broken down by war and misfortunes; and probably 
his skill and vigour in planning and executing niiiitary achi'jvements 
had been much diminished. 

The point at which he landed is uncertain. His intention secn.N 




122 



FLORIDA. 




PONCB DE LEON WOUNDED. 



to have been to found a permanent colony; but in the midst of his 
preparations he was attacked by a large party of Indians, his men 
routed, and himself severely wounded by an arrow. Discouraged 
by so unexpected a catastrophe, the survivors regained the vessel, 
and sailed for Cuba, where their leader died of his wound. 

Spain now claimed, under the title of Florida, the whole coast 
from Cape Sable to Labrador. Her pretensions, of course, wero 
never enforced ; but Spanish vessels continued to trade along the 
coast as far north as Virginia, mainly for the purpose of stealing 
Indians, who were afterwards sold as slaves. A company was even 
formed for this infamous purpose ; and under their auspices, Lucas 
Vasques de Ayllon was sent, about the year 1520, to Florida. He 
discovered South Carolina, and sailed up the Combahee river, which 
he denominated Jordan. The natives received him most cordially, 
bringing provisions and other supplies ; but after decoying great 
numbers on board, he detained them, and the ships sailed for the 
West Indies. Before reaching their destination, one of the ships 
sunk ; and nearly all the captives in the other died. A second ex- 



EXPEDITION OF NARVAEZ. 123 

pedition, conducted by the same leader, was attacked by the Indians 
and almost annihilated. 

Some time after these voyages, Stephen Gomez, in attempting a 
north-wei, passage to India, reached, as is supposed, the latitude of 
40° or 41° north, which coast was denominated, by the early Spa- 
niards, the Land of Gomez. 

An adventurer now appeared who seemed worthy to accomplish 
that in which the unfortunate Ponce de Leon had failed. Pamphilo 
de Narvaez, the rival of Cortes, in the conquest of Mexico, deter- 
mined to attempt the conquest of Florida. For this purpose, he was 
invested with the office of adelantado, which gave him full power 
to subjugate, settle, and rule the coveted region. 

In June, 1527, Narvaez sailed from St. Lucas with five vessels and 
six hundred men; but, before leaving Cuba, (February 20, 1528,) 
where he had stopped to refit, desertion and other causes had re 
duced the armament to four vessels, four hundred men, and eighty 

landed in sight of an 
Indian village, proba- 
bly near the hay of 
Spiritu Santo. Here 
he erected the empe- 
ror's standard, and 
claimed the country 
for Spain ; after which 
the village was en- 
tered, and such things 
seized as the Spa- 
niards had need of. 
The Indians fled into 
the interior ; and it 
soon became neces- 
sary for the invaders to pause and consider on their future course. 
Alvaro Nunez, narrator of the expedition, advised the commander 
to re-embark, and sail onwards till he should find a fertile country, 
and a safe station to retreat on, should it be necessary. But Nar 
vaez determined to push at once into the interior; and, on the 1st 
of May, at the head of three hundred men, forty of whom were 
cavalry, he commenced his march through Florida. After passing 
throuoh various tribes of Indians, some friendly and some hostile, 
exploring forests, swimming broad rivers, and wading through 



horses. He reached Florida in April, and 




LANDING OF NARVAEZ. 



124 



FLORIDA. 




NARVA«Z IN FliORIDA- 



marshes, they arrived, at the end of fifty-seven days, near a villajre 
which the guides pointed out to them as the seat of a fli)urishing 
empire. The food they had brought with them vvas now entirely 
consumed — a circumstance which gave additional enthusiasm to the 
feeh'ngs with which they hailed the village, as the fulfilment of theii 
brilliant expectations. 

Alvaro took posses'sion of the place; and, after a series of skir- 
mishes with the inhabitants, learning that a town named Aute, 
abounding in maize, lay nine days' journey to the southward, the 
dispirited adventurers directed their steps thither. The difficulties 
of the way were greater than any they had yet experienced ; bul 
they reached their destfnation, and secured a valuable store of maize. 
Another day's journey brought them to a river, opening upon u 
bioad arm of the sea, probably the Bay of Appalachicola. Here, 
while gazing upon the broad extent of waters, and reflecting on the 
wilderness through which they had passed, the loneliness and utter 
wretchedness of their situation burst upon them ; and many a bold 
heart, which for years had strugo-led for glory even in the jaws of 
fate, now sighed like a child for home. 

The situation of the party was indeed distressing. A third of 
their number had perished, and disease was rapidly thinning the 
remainder. To recede into the interior would be folly; and it was 
unpossible to remain alive on the coast. No resource remained but 



JOURNEY OF ALVARO. 



125 




the almost hopeless one of constructing- barks to sail along thv? coast. 
Narvaez and his companions set themselves diligently to work, and 
between the 4th of August and 20th of September, five boats were 
built, each capable of carrying fifty men. They were constructed 
of light wood, and held together by twisted oaknm and the gum of 
trees. The shirts of the Spaniards served as sails. 

^^^^^^ After embarking, they seized 

0t,^^^fgW^^^^^^^^ ^^'^ Indian canoes, which mate- 

^JT;^ -j ^^^^^^^^,^;:^^ac=^ rially improved their condition; 

- and at the end of more than a 
" --rzii^^ month, landed at a village where 
they were hospitably received. 
At midnight, an attack was 
made by the inhabitants, and 
the invaders were forced to their boats with loss. They met a like 
reception at another island. The provisions were now nearly ex- 
hausted ; and the canoes in such a miserable condition that they 
could scarcely be got forward. In this forlorn situation, Narvaez 
abandoned his brave companions, and, pushing ahead in the best 
vessel, left Alvaro and the others to tcke care of themselves. He is 
supposed to have perished at sea. 

Thus deserted by the man who had led them to ruin, Alvaro, 
after a great variety of adventures, finally led a small remnant of 
his companions, by a circuitous route, across the Mississippi and Rio 
Grande, to Mexico. He was well received at Culiazzan, by Go- 
vernor Diaz, and also at the city of Mexico; and having there re- 
cruited himself by a stay of two months, he set sail, and arrived at 
Lisbon, August 9, 1587. 

Alvaro found his own country intoxicated with the recent acquisi- 
tion of an empire, which had realized all the golden dreams that had 
cost so much bl'-od and anxi«'ty. Peru, discovered, conquered, and 
rifled by Pizarro and Almagru, with a handful of adventurers, had 
given a new impulse to adventure. Ferdinand de Soto, a princi- 
pal actor in this grand drama, had returned to Spain, laden with 
fame and wealth; and, on hearing of Ponce de Leon's adventures, 
he solicited permission to conquer Florida, and was immediately 
constituted adelantado. 

At this juncture, Alvaro arrived with his doleful tale ; but nothing 
could damp the ambition of De Soto. His fame drew together a 
vast company of adventurers, from whom he selected nine hundieu 

1.8 



126 



FLORIDA. 




A L M A. O RO. 



and fifty of approved character ; and on the 6th of April, 1538, em- 
Darked in ten vessels for Cuba. He there spent a 3'ear in prepara- 
tion, during which time he was joined by Vasco Porcalho, a veteran 
who, like himself, had gained an immense fortune by his sword. He 
was appointed lieutenant-general. 

Soto reached Florida May 25, 1538, and, on the 30th, landed in 
the bay of Spiritu Santo. Four individuals w^ere sent out to ascer- 
tain the fate of the former expedition ; but these were seized by a 
neighbouring cacique and condemned to lingering death. Other dif- 
ficulties followed in such rapid succession, that Porcalho became dis- 
couraged and returned to Cuba. 

It was unfortunate for De Soto that an expedition had preceded 
him in Florida. He came with a sincere desire not to provoke the 
Indians by acts of cruelty ; and as he had the reputation of being 
one of the most humane of all the Peruvian conquerors, there is 
room to beheve that his desire would have been attended with the 
w';^hed-for harmony. In fact, the measures that he adopted at hud- 



ADVENTURES OF SOTO. 




»3T0 APPOINTED ADSLANTADO BY THE COUNCIL OF THE INCIS-S- 

ing- were admirably conducive to this effect. But the natives still 
remembered the perfidious cruehy of Narvaez ; and they looked 
upon the new-comers only as a fresh band of robbers and murderers. 
Had Florida, like Mexico, been under one great government, this 
difficulty would not have been so formidable; for then Soto could 
have beaten its army, entered the capital, and been master of the 
country. But he struggled against a multitude of fierce petty tribes, 
who, although offering no point at which an effective blow could be 
struck, never left him master of aiore than the spot on which his 
army stood. 

After the departure of Porcalho, Soto commenced his march into 
the interior — a march which has no parallel in the history of Ame- 
rican adventure. The people either met him with showers of 
arrows or fled into the interior, leaving the region through which he 
passed little better than a barren waste. In the district of Acali, his- 
men were attacked, while crossing a large stream, by the entire 
population. The chieftain of Vitachuco laid a plot for their utter- 
9 



FLORIDA. 




SOTO 



txtermmation ; but intelligence of it was received through Ortiz, so 
that, on the day appointed, the Spaniards were armed and prepared 
for the onset. When it was about to be2"in, a party surrounded and 
seized the cacique. The savao-es, undismayed, rusljed on with loud 
shouts; and Soto rashly gallopingf into the crowd, his horse fell 
pierced with three arrows. The rider himself would have been torn 
to pieces but for the exertions of his cavalry. The flower of the 
Indian warriors now plunged into a large pand, where they kept 
themselves afloat, and though the invaders surrounded it six deep, 
they refused to surrender. In the morning, they were captured, 
when almost dead with cold and fatiane. 

Notwithstanding the violence of this attack, the Spanish general 
extended a general pardon to the offenders, and even admitted the 
cacique to his table. Soon after, however, he apportioned the cap- 
tives as servants among his men — a measure in the highest degree 
impolitic, since nothing could have been more mortifying to those 
free chieftains than the idea of servitude. 

A sudden attack was made upon the Spaniards, while at dinner, 
during which several of the Europeans were killed, and others 
severely injured ; but they finally mastered their infuriated oppo- 
nents. 

Soto now abandoned, in a great measure, his conciliatory course, 
«ei?,ing all Indians he met with, and compellino; them to act as sf^r 



SEARCH FOR GOLD. 



vantp. It should be recorded, however, to his honour, that, notwith- 
standing the scenes of wholesale butchery to which he had been 
familiarized in Peru, he never imitated them in Florida; and, indeed, 
rarely trifled with human life, except fn battle. 

On reaching Appalachen, Soto seized the cacique, hoping thereby 
to compel the inhabitants to submission through fear for their sove- 
reign's safety. The chief was of a most unwieldy bulk ; but, not- 
withstanding this circumstance, and the vigilance with which he was 
guarded, his subjects managed to steal him away, and fled hastily 
into the interior. Soto was mortified, but not discouraged. His 
inougtits still dwelt on some sunny clime where temples, and walls 
and princely palaces glittered with burnished gold, where the same 
precious metal sparkled amid the sands of limpid streams, and 
where the very air was soft and subduing with the copious gushings 
of priceless gums and balsams. For this El Dorado, the fatal syren 
which had misled so many noble spirits, he had sacrificed home, 
fortune, comfort, and health ; and still, as it gllued from his grasp, 
he bore up against experience and the convictions of common sense, 
and reached onward the more eagerly, in proportion as his eftbrts 
appeared useless. The reports of some captains, who had seen, in 
great abundance, a yellow and a white metal, seemed to keep up the 
illusion ; and Soto determined to push forward with all possible alac- 
rity. In passing a rather barren region, in the present State of 
Georgia, his men were reduced to such misery for want of provi 
sions, as gladly to devour the dogs presented them by the natives 
On arriving at the Savannah river, they learned that a kingdom, 
named Cofaciqui, lay on the opposite shore, and that its sovereign 
was a woman. Ere long, an ornamented bark was seen moving 
from the other side, containing the princess herself. She enchanted 
them by her beauty, grace, and courtesy ; presented a triple row of 
pearls to the general, and carried the whole party across the river in 
canoes. On being interrogated concerning the yellow and white 
metal, she instantly produced specimens; but how great was the dis- 
appointment of the adventurers to find the anticipated gold nothing 
but a gilded stone, and the silver white clay, or (juartz. It is pro- 
bable, however, that the stone, considered worthless by the Spaniards, 
was really gold ore. 

Sick with repeated vexations, many of the adventurers expressed 
qi wish to give up the search for wealth, and settle in iheir present 
quarters. To this, Soto would not listen, but departed in the bc^in- 

17 



130 



FLORIDA. 




ning of May. Considering it impossible, however, to march thmufrf. 
ihe country without beincr attacked, he seized the queen, and obIige(! 
her to issue orders that the Spaniards should be supplied with what- 
ever her territory afforded. She escaped near the frontier. 

HE Spaniards now passed through the Chero- 
kee region, and over a barren territory, to the 
land of Coosa. Here they were met by the 
cacique in the most friendly manner — a kind- 
ness requited by seizing his person. The same 
system was practised on the cacique of Tusca- 
loosa, a person of gigantic stature, fierce, proud, 
and ruling over extensive territories. On finding himself a prisoner, 
he dissembled his real sentiments, until the invaders had reached 
Mauvila, (Mobile,) a large town, strongly palisaded, and containing 
numerous families. Soto, having entered by invitation, was enter- 
tained with dances and other kinds of ijayety ; yet, while surrounded 
with these fiattering d^mons-ratioLs. he received notice that the 
houses were filled with armed warriors, collected from every quar- 
ter ; that the children had been removed, and even the women, ex- 
cept many who had also prepared for battle. Strange to say, in the 
face of this evidence, and notwithstanding his past bitter experience, 
the general contented himself by merely directing his followers to 
be on their guard. 

He was soon undeceived. Order was succeeded by uproar, terror, 
and death. Yells from thousands of infuriated savages appalled th-i 
stoutest heart, and cluuds of arrows darkened the day. Unable to 
breast the storm, Soto shouted to his men to fall back — i movement 
which continued, under galling showers, until they reached their 
horses. One after another was left behind, the victim of Indian 
vengeance, and many of the survivors were pierced by arrows. But 
once on horseback, they regained their superiority, and easily drove 
back their pursuers. The palisade being strong against a force 
vithout artillery, some time elapsed before the gate could be forceil 
open. Even then, the Indians were found so strongly posted in 
ihe houses, that they could not be overcome except by the dreadful 
expedient of firing the town. The scene that follo\A^ed was terrible, 
In that warm climate, houses constructed entirely of reeds and 
branches, flamed like tinder, and suddenly, as by magic, both armies 
were involved in volumes of fire and smoke. As the natives rushed 
forward, many fell a sacrifice either to the flames or the sw'ord 



DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



131 



Those who escaped to the fields endeavoured to renew the battle, 
and even the women lent their assistance ; they were, however, 
finally obliged to seek safety in a general flight. Diffe'ent accounts 
state their loss at from two thousand five hundred to t m thousand. 
The Spaniards had eighteen killed, a number severely wounded, and 
all their baofS'ao-e consumed in the flames. 

After this melancholy affair, Suto fought his way into the great 
valley of the Mississippi, hitherto unknown, and reached Chicasaw, • 
the small capital of the warlike nation of the Chicasavvs. Here he 
passed the winter. On the return of spring, he had apparency 
removed all cause of dispute with the Indians, whom he now re- 
quested to lend him two hundred of their number to carry his 
baggage. A storm, however, was about to burst upon him, of which 
he was little aware. The Indians had long been seeking an oppor- 
tunity for surprise, and now taking advantage of a dark, stormy 
night, passed the Spanish sentinels, penetrated, undiscovered, into 
their cantonments and set them on fire. At dead of night, the troops 
were roused from slumber, by the crackling of flames and the yells 
of their assailants. They would probably have been entirely cut 
off; but that the horses rushing with wild neighings from place to 
place, were mistaken for mounted troops, and caused the Chicasaws 
to fly in disorder. Eleven Spaniards were killed, fifty horses, and 
nearly all their hogs. The clothes which had escaped at Mauviia 
were burned, and the iron armour damaged. 

In this forlorn condition, the Spaniards again pushed forward, 
antil their progress was arrested by the Mississippi. This great 
stream is accurately described by the survivors as more than a mile 
broad, rapid, muddy, extremely deep, and with many large trees 
floating on its surface. Soto's passage being opposed, it was twenty 
days before he could construct barges to contain his men. 

It would be tedious to follow the intrepid Soto through the whole 
of this astonishing expedition. He appears to have wandered far 
north, into what is now the state of Missouri, everywhere toiling 
and fighting, amid dangers apparently insurmountable. At Auti- 
amque (Utiangue) on the Upper Washita, he passed his fourth 
dreary winter. In the spring, his condition was so wretched, that he 
determined on the measure from which his mind had so long re- 
volted, of returning to the coast, and seeking reinforcements from 
Cuba or Mexico. He, therefore, hastily descended the Washita to 
ts juncture with the Red River, and the latter stream to its conflu- 



132 



FLORIDA. 




SOTO DISCOVERINO TH3 MISSISSIPPI 



ence with the Mississippi. Here he found himself in the territory 
of Gauchoya, which contained a brave and numerous population ; 
his men being reduced to less than five hundred, and the horses to 
forty. He, therefore, announced himself as the child of the sun ; 
and taking advantage of their astonishment at seeing themselves in 
a mirror, he announced that that glass would display to him what- 
ever they did at any distance, and thus detect any plot which might 
be formed against him. He was now informed that the sea was yet 
far off; and the road thither greatly obstructed by streams and 
entangled woods. Amid these anxieties and distresses he wa? 
seized with fever, which closed, in a few days, his earthly career 
The death of the commander who had shared with them so ma 



DEATH OF SOTO. 



tolls, and whose voice had been their rallying power in hours of 
darkness, fell with stunning force on his little band. Moscoso, his 
successor, endeavoured to conceal the event from the Indians, pre- 
tending that the general had merely gone on a visit to heaven, 
whence he would quickly return. Lest an ordinary burial might 
lead to other conclusions, it was determined to sink the body in the 
Mississippi. At dead of night, with nothing around but a few 
broken men, the silent stars, and the rolling flood, the chivalric Soto 
was committed to his watery grave. He who had made ca];tive 
the mighty Inca of Peru, who, to grasp an empire's wealth, had 
battled among tens of thousands, and whose fame had drawn to hi. 
banner the most splendid army hitherto beheld in the New World 
was robbed by fortune, even of that little spot where friends coulc 
console themselves by reflecting that they wept over his remains. 
After his death, the adventurers wandered about for a long while 
over an in;niense tract of country, and finally constructed boats, de 
scended the Mississippi, and sailed to Panuco. Of the entire com- 
pany that had r^aiied from Cuba, only three hundred and eleven 
were left. After marching four years over five thousand miles of 
savage and hostile regions, they had achieved nothing, nor left even a 
vestige of their route, save the track of bloud by which it had been 
too often stained. 

Thus, the first three Spanish expeditions to Florida did not establish 
for that nation one sinole fort, notwithstanding- that mure blood and 
Ireasure hud been expended on them than on the combined outfits of 
Uolumbus, Cortes, and Pizarro. Such reverses diminished the 
attractions of Florida to Spanish eyes; and the idea of colonizing it 
seems to have been for some 'ime abandoned. A Dominican mis- 
sionary, however, named Canceiio, visited the ;ountry for the pur 
pose of converting the Indians, and received z..nple encouragement 
from government ; but he and his companions were massacred. 
The Spaniards, however, continued to claim Florida, and even the 
whole of North America. 

It was not to be expected that so preposterous a claim would long 
•emain undisputed Dy the more powerful European nations. Fran- 
ks I., the great rival of the Spanish emperor, was ambitious of esta- 
blishing a colony in North America, which might act as a check to 
tiis antagonist's power in that quarter; and with this view, he sup- 
plied Giovanni Verazzano, a noble Florentine, with four vessels Ic 
A-merica. This adventurer, after being driven back by a storm ic 

M 



134 



FLORIDA. 




htted his fleet, and engaged in some successful naval operations on 
:he Spanish coast. He was then given command of the Dolphin, 
ivith fifty-eight men, provisioned for eight months, to prosecute his 
original plan of discovery. After encountering a severe tempest, he 
came, in the middle of iMarch, upon a coast supposed to be that of 
North Carolina. After sailing along the coast for some time in 
<earch of a harbour, he landed in the vicinity of Cape Fear, and 
held some friendly intercourse with the natives. He coasted what 
is now Virginia and the xMiddle States, sailed up the Hudson, 
touched at Martha's Vineyard, and other portions of New England, 
visited Nova Scotia, and seems to have gone as far north as Labra- 
dor ; but his provisions being exhausted, he was obliged to sail for 
France. Verazzano subsequently made another voyage to America, 
where he was killed by a party of the natives. 

After the death of Francis I., the celebrated Admiral Colign^' de- 
termined to found a settlement in America, which might afford an 
asylum to his Protestant brethren, whom persecution obliged to flee 
from their own country. In 1562, he furnished John Ribault ot 
Dieppe, an experienced seaman, with two vessels, and directions to 
reach the mouth of the river called, by Ay lion, the Jordan, (Camba- 
hee.^ Steering in too low a latitude, that navigator reached the St 
lohns, and discovered other rivers which he named after tho^e ol 



FRENCH EXFEDITIOXS. 



155 




France. The scenery at Purt Royal so delighted him that he landed 
and chose it as the site of his colony. Having erected a fort arid 
placed the selileinent in a promising condition, Ribault left tweniy- 
six men and returned to France for reinforcements and supplies. 
Unfortunately, the new governor, Albert, was a ra.sh and tyrannical 
officer ; who, finding it difficult to njaintain authority where ail 
thought themselves nearly equal, enforced :t in the most violent 
manner He addressed them in opprobrious language, hanged on«> 
with his own hand, and threatened others with the same fate. Mu- 
tiny was the consequence. The commander was put to death, and 
Nicholas Barre, being appointed in his stead, soon restored tran- 
quillity. In consequence of the great civil war in France, no 
reinforcements reached the little colony ; and the colonists at 
length constructed a brigantine to return tu their own country. 
The slender stock of provisions was soon exhausted, and after being 
reduced to the last extremity, they were picked up by an English 

vr-s.c;(d. 

Some time elapsed before Coligni could resume his scheme of 
colonization ; but, in 1.5G4, he succeeded in fitting out thi'ee vessels, 
abundantly supplied, and commanded by Rene Laudonniere, an able 
companioj- of Ribiiult. Sailing ruurid the Canaries and West Indies, 



13(/ I^LORIDA. 




SATURIOVA SHOWINQ LAUDONNIERE RIBA-ULT's MONUMENT. 



he reached the St. John's river, nnd determined there to stop and 
settle. He was cordially received by Saturiova, the Indian cacique, 
who, flattered by the deference shown him by the French, led Lau- 
donniere to the monument erected by Ribaull, which had been deco- 
rated with flowers and supplied with ample provisions for the new 
visitors. A fort named La Carolina was erected, and expeditions 
sent up the river, where small quantities of gold and silver were 
seen. Reports were likewise received of a mountainous country in 
the interior where these metals abounded. These illusory prospects 
diverted the colonists from more sober pursuits ; and, in a short time, 
a number of the more reckless, seized with a sudden desire to grow 
rich, formed the criminal res(^lution of becoming pirates. Confining 
the commander, they rifled his stores, and setting sail captured a 
richly laden vessel, having the governor of Jamaica on board. 
They imprudently sailed to that island, where they were surrounded 
and one of their vessels captured. The others were obliged, through 
want of food, to return to the settlement, where Laudonniere con- 
demned four of the ringleaders to be executed. 

Meanwhile, the colonists neglected agriculture, and continued 
the pursuit after unknown treasures. They were soon obliged to 
depend for food entirely on the Indians, a miserable resource, parti- 
cularly in Florida. Dispirited by so dreary a situation, they began 
to construct vessels to return home; and, although cheered by a 
visit, and a liberal supply of provisions from Sir John Hawkins, thev 
did not intermit their task. But when on the point of sailing, 
(August 2b, 1565,^ several ships were observed ipproaching. It 



TRENCH AND SPANISH EXPEDITIONS. 



137 



was a new expedition under Ribauii. who, 
having been appointed to supersede Laudon^ 
niere, had brought with him a numerous rein 
furcenient and ample supplies. The idea of 
returning was, therefore, abandoned. To 
them, the resolution was a fatal one. 

Don Pedro Menendez, a Spaniard, now de- 
termined to conquer Florida. He sailed from 
San Lucas with eleven ships and a thousand 
SIR JOHN HAWKINS Dien, Bttd repalied to the river St. Adlius- 
tine. He there founded a settlement, considered the oldest V'wn 
now in the United States, and forthwith prepared for operations 
against the heretic French. 

Ribault, on learning the arrival of this formidable enemy, thnuoht 
it most advisable to become the assailant without delay, before they 
could fortify their position. This conduct has been censured, hut 
perhaps too much with reference to the fatal event. Leavini: Lau- 
dcnniere with eighty-five men in the fort, he sailed on the Nih of 
Septen)ber, and nrrived on the lOlh at the mouth of the Si. Auous- 
tine ; but was there overtaken by a tremendous storm, which drove 
him far out to seci. Menendez, concluding that this expedition oiust 
have com pruned the flower of the French troops, and that those left 
in the fort were few in number, hastily formed the resoiuth n to 
attack them. Selecting five hundred of his best men, he led them 
across a wild n untry, intersected by broad streams, swam! s, and 
forests, encou law iOg them to ['roceed by an appeal to all the seniiinents 
of h(mour and u-ligion. On the fourth evening, the j lace was des- 
cried, but the tiii:ht was s})ent in the neighbourhood, aond a dread- 
ful temptst. which, while il inflicted severe suffering, also lulled the 
enemy's su:^plcn ns. At dr.ybreak, the three gates of the fort were 
seen open, and only a single Frenchman outside, who was lured 
into the canij' and killed. Menendez then ordered his followers to 
rush forward, and enter before any discovery could be made. But 
a soldier, chancing to be on the rampart, gave the alarm ; though, 
before Laudt;nniere could be roused, the enemy were in the fort, and 
had comufenced an indiscriminate massacre. That chief, with s«. *e- 
ral compani(ins, leaped from the wall, ran into the woods, and, after 
wandering some time, found a little bark, in which, under severe 
want and imminent perils, they made their way to Bristol. S])anish 
writers assert, thai, after the slaughter had continued some time, an 

18 m2 




FLORIDA 




HIBAUIT WRBCKSD. 



order was issued to spare the women and children, and that, while 
two hundred perished, seventy were saved. 

Ribaull, meanwhile, after being driven out to sea, saw his vessels 
completely wrecked among the rocks in the Bahama Channel. He 
escaped on shore with nearly all his men; but their condition was 
most deplorable, and, in endeavouring to reach their settlement by a 
march of three hundred miles, through a barren country, the most 
extreme hardships were endured. At length, on the ninth day, they 
beheld the river, and the fort on the opposite side ; but what was 
their dismay to see on the ramparts Spanish colours flying! Their 
leader made a solemn pause before he could resolve to place any 
trust in men known to be imbued with the most ferocious bigotry. 
Seeing, however, no other hope, he sent two of the party to represent 
that their sovereigns were at peace ; that, agreeably to instructions, 
they had strictly avoided interfering with any of their settlements; 
they asked only food and a vessel to convey them home. Their 
reception is very differently reported. According to the French, it 
was most kind, and ample pledges of safety were given. The Spa- 
niards, on the contrary, allege that Menendez acquainted them with 
his object, and the bloody treatment he had given to their country- 
men ; but added, that if they would lay down their arms, and pla^ 
themselves at his mercy, he would do with them whatever God in 
his grace might suggest, s We cannot, however, believe that without 
Some more positive pledge, Ribaull would have agreed to surrender. 
Having delivered their arms, his men were conveyed across the 
river by thirty at a time. They were dismayed to find themselves 
bound two and two together, with their hands behind their backs ; 
but this, they were assured, was only a temporary precaution. A' 



DOMIXIQUE DE GOUl.GUES. }M 

length, they were drawn up in (rnnl of the castle, when the Spanisii 
chief with his sword drew a Jine round them on the sand, and on a 
signal given, the soldiers commenced the work of slaughter, with 
every excess of cruelty and indignity ; the military band playing 
the whole time to drown the cries (or mercy and the shrieks of the 
dying. Ribault, amid vain retnnnstrances, was struck in the back 
and fell covered with wounds. When the work of blood was 
finished, the assassins suspended to a tree a number of the mang-led 
limbs, attaching the inscription, "Not because they are Frenchmen, 
but because they are heretics and enemies of God." 

This dismal tragedy, ^when announced in France, gnve b rth to a 
mingled seniinjent of grief and rage, accompanied by a loud cry for 
vengeance. These feelings were the more deep among the Hugue- 
nots, from the suspicicn that they were not shared by the sovereign 
Charles IX., who was clusely united with Philip in relentless enmity 
to the Prcte'=:tant name. Yet a remonstrance was presented from 
fifteen hundred widows and orphans, calling on him to avenge this 
dreadful deed, and vind'cate the honour of his country. Tiio king 
made only formal remcnstrances, and accepted a superficial apology; 
but there was a spirit in the nation itself, which, independently of 
his will, provided the means of punishment. 

OMINiaUE DE GOURGUES was uni- 
versally distinguished in that age as a 
daring warrior. He had fought success- 
fully both against the Spaniards and 
Turks, by tne former of whom he had 
been held some time a prisoner, treated 
with the utmost indignity, and compelled 
to work as a galley slave. On receiving 
intelligence of the Floridan catastrophe, his own wrongs, together 
with thuse of his countrymen, look full possession of his mind ; and 
he devoted his whole energies to the work of vengeance. By sell- 
ing his little property, and borrowing from friends, ke equipped 
three ships, with i\V'> ^.--ndred and thirty soldiers and sailors, mostly 
chosen adherents, who had often conquered along with hiin. Care- 
fully concealing his object, he obtained a license fur the slave-traue, 
and sailed on the 22d of Auoust, 1567; but on approaching the 
Cape de Verd islands, he changed his course, and stood across the 
Atlantic. It was not before reaching the western point of Cul>i, 
hai he unfolded to the whole party their dreadful destination 




140 



FLORIDA. 



Some were disposed to shrink ; but, being persuaded by the rctsi 
they at length joined in a unanimous consent. 

De Gourgues, in sailing along the coast of Florida, passed impru- 
dently near to San Matheo, of which he was warned by his squad - 
ron, who had found themselves saluted as Spaniards ; whereupon 
he hastened to another river fifteen leagues distant, and landed as 
secretly as possible. Finding the natives as usual imbued with 
deadly hostility towards the subjects of Philip, he engaged their co- 
operation ; and learning that the enemy had built two small forts, 
he made a rapid march and spent the night at a short distance from 
them. In the morning, he was alarmed to see the whole garrison in 
m .)tion on the ramparts ; but they had assembled from some acci- 
dental cause, and soon withdrew. The French then advanced 
through a thick wood, which brought them almost close to one of 
the smaller forts. On emerging from the forest, they were seen, the 
alarm was given, and two guns fired ; but, rushing forward with wild 
impetuosity, they scaled the ramparts, an Indian chief being foremost ; 
the garrison, seized with terror, ran out in every direction, and were 
nearly all killed or taken. Those in the next station followed their 
example, and soon shared their fate ; but the main fortress was still 
untouched, and defended by troops far more numerous than the assail 
ants. A small parly, however, having rashly sallied out, were sur- 
rounded and nearly cut off; whereupon the whole body, struck with 
the general panic, at once abandoned their stronghold, and sought 
safety in the woods. Being eagerly pursued, most of them were 
taken ; and De Gourgues had given strict orders to bring in as many 
alive as possible. He then led them all together to the fatal tree on 
which the remains of his slaughtered countrymen yet hung, and 
having upbraided them in the strongest terms for their treachery 
and cruelty, he hanged them all; suspending a nunjber of their 
bodies on the same trunk, and substituting for the former one the 
following inscription: — "Not because they are Spaniards, but be- 
cause they are traitors, robbers, and murderers.'* Had this execu- 
tion been confined to a fow of the ringlef^.is, it might have been 
held as a just retribution ; but being inflicted on so large a scu!e, 
It almost rivalled the atrocity which it was meant to avenge. 

De Gourgues had not come with any intention of settlement. 
Embarking, therefore, with whatever was valuable in the forts, hu 
sailed for Rochelle, and was received in that Protestant capital with 
the JoudeFt acclamations. His reception at Bordeaux was equally 



RECENT HISTORY. 



14] 



flattering; but it was very different at Paris, where Charles showed 
no h'ttle inclination to transmit his head to Philip, who loudly de- 
manded it. Steps were even taken for bringing him to trial ; but 
they were found so excessively unpopular, that it was deemed expe- 
dient to withdraw them, and allow him to retire into Normandy. 

Amid many vicissitudes of fortune, Florida remained in the Spa- 
nish possession until 1763, when it was ceded to Great Britj^in. In 
J781, Don Galvez conquered West Florida; and by the treaty of 
Paris, 1783, both Floridas were restored to Spain. In 1819, nego- 
tiations were commenced between the United States and Spain, 
which resulted, in a treaty ceding the whole territory to the former 
country. It was ratified by Spain in October, 1820, and by the 
United States in the ensuing February. In July, General Jackson 
took formal possession of it, since which time its history is included 
'.n that of the United Stale^. 



CHAPTER IX. 



CANADA UXDER THE FRENCH. 



N the 3^ear 1497, John Cabot and his ''^n 
Sebastian reached the continent of North 
America, being the first Europeans whn 
had touched there since the Northmen. 
In the follo\vin2: year Sebastian per- 
formed a most extensive exploratory voy- 
age along the greater part of the east- 
ern coast, from latitude 56° or 58° north, 
to Florida; and in 1517, he entered 
ITndson's Bay, with the hope of disco- 
vering a north-west passage to India. A mutiny of the crew obliged 
him to return. 

After the return of the Cabf)t? to Europe, and the death of their 
royal patron, Henry VI I., the English grew careless of foreign dis- 
coveries; but the French eraered upon them with all the enthujiasin 

)42 




DISCOVERIES OF CARTIER. 



143 




OA.RTIER TAXING POSS-ESSION OF NH-W F3ANC3!. 



necessary for success. Notwithstanding the difficulties under which; 
Francis I. then laboured, he coraniissioned Giovanni Verazzano, a 
Florentine navigator, to explore the eastern shores of North Ame- 
rica. In virtue of his discoveries, the coast from Carolina to Nova^ 
Scotia was claimed by the French roonarch, and named New France. 
A second expedition under Verazzano was unfortunate ; but ten^ 
years after, Jaques Cartier, a bold and able mariner, made two voy- 
ages, in the l-^.Uer of which he ascended the St. Lawrence as far as 
the site Montreal. In 1540, the same officer was employed under 
the Sieur de Roberval, who also sailed up the St. Lawrence, and 
erfcted a fort where Quebec now stands. The two leaders could 
not agree, and parted ; but nine years after, while sailing to Ame- 
rica with a similar design, Roberval and his brother perished, as is 
suf^posed, by shipwreck. 
10 



144 



CANADA UNDER THE FRENCH. 



These failures, together with the distracted condition *of France, 
withdrew the attention of government from schemes of transatlantic 
colonization. Yet the merchants of the great commercial towns 
had opened communications and even established posts for the pro- 
secution of the fur trade; thus keeping alive the spirit of adven- 
ture until a more propitious season should occur for its develop- 
ment. 

Accordingly, on the restoration of 
tranquillity under Henry IV., the Mar- 
quis de la Roche undertook to settle 
America on a large scale. Not only 
did he receive the countenance of the 
liberal monarch, but was also Au- 
thorized to levy troops, make var, 
build forts and cities, enact laws, and 
to create lor Is, dukes, barons, and 
similar dignities. Several vessels 
were equipped, and crews provided, 
in part, from the prisons. Notwith- 
standing, however, these favourable 
auspices, the expedition proved a total 
failure. Forty colonists were left on Sable Island ; and being 
neglected, suffered such hardships as caused them to sigh even for 
their dungeons. In this deplorable condition they remained seven 
years, at which time they were visited by the Norman pilot, Che- 
dotel, who found but twelve alive. These were taken to France 
and munificently rewarded by the king. Meanwhile, La Roche, 
being thwarted in his plans, died of vexation. 

Some time after this ill-starred enterprise, two settlements were 
attempted by Chauvin of Rouen and Pontgrave of St. Malo. Some 
houses were built, and trade established with the Indians ; but no 
permanent station was built. 

These repeated failures could not damp the spirit of the French 
people; and now a more propitious era was dawning upon them. 
The Commander de Chaste, governor of Dieppe, planned an enter- 
prise, in which he was joined by several merchants, among whom 
was Samuel Champiain, " the father of the French settlements in 
America." He and Pontgrave ascended the St. Lawrence as far as 
the Sault St. Louis ; but, finding it impossible to pass that cataract, 
ihey with some difficulty reached the height above it, makinor the 




POUJfDING OF QUEBEC. 14/) 




OHAMPLAIH ASCENDINa THB ST. LAWBENCB. 



best observations they could on the river and country. On return- 
ing to France, he found De Chaste dead ; but he was flatteringly re- 
ceived by the king, and ever after exerted much influence in the 
colonial affairs of the crown. 

An opulent gentleman, and especial favourite of Henry, namfd 
De Monts, now undertook to prosecute the enterprise commenced ly 
De Chaste. His expedition was on a more extensive scale than 
any preceding one ; and its success was proportionate to the wishey 
of the proprietor. The first voyage, however, was disastrous : 
although the company left on Nova Scotia were ultimately the 
means of founding the important colony of Acadia. 

De Monts was prevented from accompanying the second expedi 
tion, which consisted of two vessels, and the command was intrusted 
to Champlain. He sailed from Hon fleur on the 13th of April, 1608. 
and on the 3d of June reached Tadoussac. The port of this place 
was tolerably safe ; but the shore consisted only of dreary rocks and 
sands, scantily clothed with larch and pine. Ascending the St. 
Lawrence, the company passed the isle of Orleans, and soon after 
reached a hill called, by the natives, Quebec. On this spot, Cham- 
plain laid the foundations (July 13, 1608) of the modern capital of 
British America. Here they passed the winter, and sowed son»c 
grain, for which they found the soil well adapted. 
10 N 



146 



CANADA UNDER THE FRENCH. 



As soon as the season admitted, Champlain resumed his voyage 
up the river, between banks covered with noble forests. At the isle 
of St. Eloi, twenty-five leagues above Quebec, he met a number of 
Algonquin Indians, who were proceeding against the Iroquois. 
Champlain, with a zeal strangely contrasting with his former pru- 
dence, joined this party, and after a tedious journey, the allied forces 
came in sight of their enemy (June 29). The Iroquois were de- 
feated, and Champlain, with his 
new allies, returned to duebec. 
Not long after, he returned to 
France, in order to solicit more ad- 
venturers. 

During his absence, importanl 
changes respecting his colony had 
been transpiring. De Monts's com- 
mission had been revoked, and with 
it the exclusive monopoly of the 
fur trade. This having formed a 
principal motive among the settlers, 
its repeal was regarded as exceed- 
ingly disastrous, if not fatal, to their 
future prospects. The energy of 
Champlain overcame this difficulty. 
An agreement was made with some 
traders at Rochelle, to give them 
the use of his building at Quebec, as a depot for their goods ; while 
they, by way of recompense, engaged to assist him in his plans of 
colonization. By this means, in 1610, Champlain was fitted out 
with a considerable reinforcement of men and supplies. 

On his return to the St. Lawrence, he received an application 
from the Algonquins to assist them in a fresh dispute — they promis- 
ing to join hmi with four hundred men at the mouth of the Iroquois 
river. He complied with the request, marched with his allies 
against the hostile tribe, and, after a severe battle, utterly defeated 
them. Champlain soon after sailed for Europe, taking with him a 
native Indian. 

In 1611, Champlain again reached America, bringing with him 
the young Indian. On the 28th of May, he arrived at the place of 
rendezvous appointed for another warlike expedition ; but, not find- 
ing the savages, he employed his time in choosing a spot for a new 




AN IROQUOIS INDIAN. 



FOUNDING OF MONTREAL. 



147 




PLACB D A.HMES, llONIBEAL. 



settlement, higher up the river than Quebec. After a careful sui 
vey, he fixed upon ground m the vicinity of an eminence, which he 
denominated Mont Royal; and the choice has been amply justified 
by the prosperity to which this place, now named Montreal, h&s 
attained. He cleared a considerable space, sowed some grain, and 
enclosed it by a wall of earth A distressing accident soon after 
wards occurred, by which Savignon. the Indian who had accom 
panied him to France, Louis, a European, and a native chief named 
Outetoncos, were tossed in a whirlpool, while descending the river, 
and both the latter drowned On coming to the spot, Champlain 
could scarcely believe it possible that any person should have 
attempted to pass so formidable a rapid 

On the 13th of June, a party of friendly Indians appeared and 
evinced much pleasure at the sight of their countryman, who gave 
the most favourable report of the treatment he had received in 
France ; the allies then unfolded the cause of their delay in meeting 
lit the time appointed. A prisoner having escaped the previous 
year, had spread the report, that the French, having designed to 
espouse the cause of the Iroquois, were coming in great force to 
exterminate the Algonquin nation. The French leader bitterly com- 
plained of their having listened to such a rumour, which all his 
actions belied. A perfect reconciliation was then effected, and both 



148 



CANADA UNDER THE FRENCH. 



particj solemnly declared their determination of adhermg to their 
alliance, and aiding, to the utmost of their power, the design of the 
French leader to penetrate into the interior. 

Champlain received from his allies very extensive information 
respecting the continent, as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. They 
acquiesced in his proposal of returning with forty or fifty of his 
people to prosecute discoveries, and, if possible, to form settlements 
'n the interior. For some reason not explained, th*" war with the 
Iroquois appears to have been dropped ; but the Algonquins re- 
quested that a French youth should accompany them, and make 
observations upon their territory and tribe. They asked their visitor 
to use his influence in order to dissuade one of their bravest war 
riors, who had been three times made prisoner by the Iroquois, and 
as often escaped, to relinquish the purpose he had now formed of 
setting out with only nine companions, to attack the enemy, and 
avenge his former wrongs. Attempts were made to divert him from 
so rash a purpose ; but, exhibiting his fingers partly cut ofT. and his 
whole body covered with wounds, he declared it impossible to live 
unless he obtained revenge. 

Champlain now returned to France, where he found the interests 
of the colony in a very unsettled state. De Monts resigned the 
whole business into his hands, who was fortunate enough to secure 
an influential patron in the Count de Soissons, who was appointed 
lieutenant-general of New France, the functions of which high 
office were delegated, by a formal agreement, to Champlain. Soon 
after, the count died ; but his place was well supplied by the Prince 
of Conde. Champlain was confirmed in his former authority. 

EW FRANCE was again visited by Champlain. In 
the beginning of March, 1613, he sailed from Hon- 
fleur, and arrived at Quebec on the 7th of iVIay. His 
aim was now different from that of fornjer expeditions. 
Among the objects of adventure in that age, a favour- 
ite one was a north-west passage to China, and every thing connected 
with the report of a sea beyond Canada inspired the greatest hopes. 
A Frenchman, named Nicholas de Vignau, who had spent a winter 
among the savages, reported that the Ottawa river issued from a 
lake connected with the North Sea ; that he had visited its shores 
and beheld there the wreck of an English vessel. This news ap- 
peared so doubtful that the man was compelled to sign his declara- 
tion before two notaries, and with the assurance of being hung id 




DISCOVERIES OF CHAMPLAIN. 



of being detected in an attempt to deceive. Champlain then 
recommenced his voyage, and, on the 21st of May, arrived at the 
Fail of St. Louis. Here, with but two canoes containing four 
Frenchmen and one native, he pushed forward, on an unknown 
river, boiling with eddies and cataracts, skirted by craggy rocks, 
whose forests stretched an unknown distance into the interior, and 
where, for every mile, they knew not but that an enemy was 
silently folio v^ing them as they glided into some snare. At length, 
they reached the abode of Tessonat, a friendly chief, whose country 
was only eight days' sail from that of the Nipissings, where the sup- 
posed shipwreck occurred. 

HE people received the French adven- 
turer courteously, calling 
together, at his request, a 
solemn council. With re- 
luctance, however, that body 
^ consented to aid his expe- 

dition ; and, on being a 
second time assembled, the 
chiefs demanded on what 
grounds so momentous an 
enterprise was to be under- 
taken. On hearing of De Vignau, they called on him to say if he 
had ever made such a journey " and when, after long hesitation, he 
answered in the affirmative, they raised loud and fierce cries, de- 
claring that he was speaking falsely, having never passed beyond 
their country, and that he should be tortured to death for having sc 
grossly deceived his chief. Seeing his follower confused, Cham- 
plain took him aside, and adjured him to tell the truth. Recovering 
confidence, he persisted in his former declarations; and the com- 
mander, on returning to the council, referred to the interior sea, the 
shipwreck, and other confirmations of his subordinate's report. At 
this, they shouted k.uder than ever, and commenced a close interro- 
gation of the alleged traveller. The latter finally conlessed that he 
had been attempting to deceive, and thus Champlain found, to his 
great mortification, that during the whole summer he had been toil- 
ing for nothing. There was no alternative but to return down the 
Ottawa; in doing which he was joined by a considerable number 
of Indians who rendezvoused at the fall of St. Ijouis. After leaving 
"YO Frenchmen with them to obtain a knowledge of the country. 




150 



CANADA uxle;i tite frentit. 




LAZ3 ssoasa. 



Champlain sailed to Tadoussac, and hence lo St. Malo, where he 
arrived August 26, 1614. 

He was soon enabled to equip another expedition, with which he 
arrived at Tadoussac, May 25, 1615. From hence he sailed to Q,i]e- 
bec, and thence to the place of rendezvous, at St. Louis Falls. He 
found his allies prepared to embark in an expedition ao^ainst the Iro- 
quois, and without hesitation furnished them with a plan for the 
campaign. After a tedious voyasje, the united forces reached Lake 
Nepissing, and were received by the tribe inhabiting its shores with 
cordiality. Proceeding onward, they reached a large body of water, 
named, by the Indians, Attignuantan, which appeared to be three 
hundred leagues in length, by fifty in breadth. It was, probably 
Lake Huron. 

After quitting this, they struck into the interior, and came to a 
smaller expanse of water, finely diversified by islands, which seems 
to be Lake George. On its banks was the Iroquois fort, which, in 
expectation of an attack, had been rendered particularly strong. A 
brisk fire from the European weapons soon drove the garrison into 
their inner works, v^'here, however, they defended themselves with 
a courage as heroic as it was unexpected. The Indian allies soon 
.became discouraged, and retired, leaving the brunt of the battle to 



DISCOVERIES OF CHAMPLAIN. 



151 




HICHELIS Cr. 



oe sustained by Champlain and his few lollovvers. He was twice 
wounded in the leg:; and an expected reinforcement of five hundred 
warriors having failed to arrive, the assault was discontinued. The 
whole party soon after effected a precipitate retreat. In the follow 
ing spring, Champlain again sailed for Europe, and arrived at Hon- 
fleur, September 10, 1616. 

The scheme of colonization was now interrupted by the intestine 
tumults of the mother country. The Prince of Conde was dis- 
graced, and finally obliged to sell his share in Canada to the Duke 
de Montmorency. Champlain was continued as lieutenant; but it 
was not until 1620, that he was enabled, in company with his family, 
to return to Canada. Two years after, the Duke de Ventadour took 
charge, as a viceroy, of the affairs of New France, and, for th ^ pur- 
pose of converting the Indians, sent some Jesuits to Canada. At 
the same time, a niimber of Calvinists, under their leader the Sieur 
de Caen, were actively engaged in the fur trade; and the disputes 
between the two parties concerning religion greatly retarded the 
prosperity of the settlements. 

With a view to obviate all cause of dissension, the Cardinal dc 
Richelieu established the company of New France. It consisted of 
one hundred associates, engaged to send three hundred tradesmen to 
Canada, and supply their settlers with food, clothing, and imple- 
ments for three years, and with land after that time. The priests 
weie to have all expenses defrayed for fifteen years. The kini; 



152 



CA^TADA UNDER THE FRENCH. 




sxP2Dirios or sih :z i.T :d sissb 



reserved to himself supremac}' in matters of faith ; homage as sove- 
reign of the country : the nomination of all commanders and offi- 
cers of the forts: and the appointing of all officers of justice, when 
it should be necessar}' to establish courts of law. The company, 
and their successors for ever, received the fort and settlements of 
Gluebec, all New France, including Florida, with the countries along 
the course of the great river of Canada, and all rivers emptying 
into it, or into the sea, on both the eastern and western coasts of the 
Continent, with, all the harbours, islands, mines, and rights of fish- 
ery. Two ships of war were presented to the company by the 
king, the value of which was to be refunded if the company failed 
in sending at least fifteen hundred French inhabitants, of both sexes, 
to New France, during the first ten years. 

This infilrunient was signed April, 16*27. and created among the 
friends of colonial prosperity the most flattering expectations. The 
administration under a viceroy beino; omitted, Champlain was con- 
tinued as governor of Canada. At first, the colony was reduced to 
great distress, particularly through the capture of the first vessels 
sent iroui France with stores. This was elfected by some English 
ships under Sir David Kirke. That officer even appeared with 



DEATH OF CHAMPLAIN. 153 

his squadron before Quebec, and had the famished condition of the 
garrison at that tinrie been known, he could easily have compelled a 
surrender. Besides the dangers from a foreign source, the prosper- 
ity of the colony was retarded by the folly or corruption cf the 
company's directors m France, so that even Ghamplain's powerful 
mind, so fertile in expedients on occasions of difficulty, was sub- 
jected to vexatious mortifications, by orders and restrictions from the 
old country, and unfortunate circumstances in the new. 

In the midst of these perplexities, w^hiie Champlain was reduced 
to the utmost extremity by the want of food, clothing, and imple- 
ments, and exposed to repeated attacks from the Iroquois, Sii 
David Kirke, at the head of an English squadron, again appealed 
before Quebec. The deplorable situation of the colony, and the very 
honourable terms proposed by the assailants, induced Champlain to 
surrender the fortress, with all Canada, to the crown of England. 
Kirke's generosity to the colonists induced them to remain ; and, in 
1632, the treaty of St. Germains restored the whole territory to 
France. In the following year, Champlain arrived with a squadron 
and all .necessary sui plies. Measures were immediately adopted 
for maintaining harmony among the mhabitants, especially in reli- 
gious matters, and afiairs speedily assumed a more prosperous aspect. 
The efforts of the Jesuits to inculcate morality among the inhabit- 
mts, and their extiaordinary perseverance in making discoveries 
md establishing njissions — 'he regulation of their great college, 
ounded in 1635, by Father Reni, Rubault, and the fiefs which tbey 
obtained, contributed in no httle degree to this result. 

rs 1635, Canada met with an irreparable loss in the 
death of Champlain. In establishing and supporting 
the cokny, this energetic man had surmounted diffi- 
culties which few would have encouniered. His 
comprehensive grasp of inieliect and sound judg- 
ment enabled hun to divine the future greatne:rs of a 
region like Canada, and stimulated him to untiring perseverance in 
prosecuting the vast design of its settlement. His sole object during 
the greater part of his life was to tound a colony, which he felt con- 
fident would eveniuully attain to extraordinary power and grandeur. 

He was succeeded by M. de Aloniinagny, a well-meaning officer, 
bit totally deficient in the experience, knowledge, and abilities of 
His predecessor. The colony, in consequence, began to decline. 
About this time, the Jesuits were busy in establishing schools -^iid 

20 




164 CANADA UNDER THE FRENCH. 




NSW CATHEDRAL, MONTRIA-L. 



colleges throughout the province. In 1636, an institution for ihfe 
instruction of the Indians was founded at SilJery, near duebec. 
This was followed by the Convent of St. Ursula. The order of St. 
Sulpicius sent a mission to Canada, and a seminary was consecrated 
with great ceremony at Montreal. The Hotel Dieu was founded in 
1644; the College of St. Sulpicius, in 1650; and the order of the 
Gray Sisters, in 1652. All the ancient religious edifices, however 
are surpassed by the recently erected Cathedral of Montreal. 

The company of New France almost entirely neglected the terms 
of their charter; and the Iroquois, taking advantage of the conse 
quent derangement of the colony, continued to harass the inhabit 
ants with unabated ferocity. The actual extinction of the settlement 
at Montreal was prevented only by the arrival of M. d'Aillebout 
(1647) with a reinforcement of a hundred men. More than ten 
years after, the Marquis d'Argenson was appointed governor-general, 
and soon after, in company with the Abbe de Montigny, the apostolic 
vicar of the province, he landed at Quebec. 

Still the condition of the colony was wretched. The company 
entirely abandoned it. The Iroquois, who had spread terrible de- 
struction among their old enemies, the Algonquins and Hurons, seemed 
also determined to exterminate the French. Several hundreds of 
their warriors kept Quebec in a state of almost actual siege, while 
another hand massacred a great number of the settlers at Montreal. 



SMALL-POX AMONG THE INDI \NS. 55 

In this miserable condition, the energy of one man probably saved 
ihe colony This was the Baron d'Avangour. He was stern and 

rigid in the performance of duty ; 
but these qualities are necessary 
in such an extremity. He became 
governor in 1661, and commenced 
his administration by transmitting 
to the king an accurate account of 
the beauty and importance of the 
country, and its defenceless condi- 
tion. So influential was this state- 
ment to the king, that he immedi- 
ately ordered four hundred troops, 
with the necessary supplies, to Ca- 
nada, accompanied with a special 
commission. Their arrival infused 
new spirit among the colonists, en- 
abling them, for the first time, to 
cultivate their lands with security. 

The 5th of February, 1663, is 
memorable for the occurrence of a 
fearful earthquake, which was felt at intervals with more or less in- 
tensity for six months, and extended throughout the province. 

From this time until 1670, the affairs of the colony continued to 
improve, although occasionally disturbed by inroads from the Indians. 
In that year, the Church of Quebec was constituted a bishopric, and 
important measures were adopted for the better government of the 
country, and the maintenance of peace with the savages. But the 
enthusiastic efforts of the clerical orders for the conversion of the 
Indians, were suddenly mterrupted by a fearful calamity, previously 
jnknown in the western world. The small-pox made its appearance 
imong the tribes north of the St. Lawrence, and, together with the 
use of ardent spirits, destroyed a greater number of the aborigines 
of North America than war or all the diseases to which they were 
previously subjected. 

In 1672, Fort Frontenac was built on the spot where Kingston 
now stands ; and, not long after, the illustrious man whose name it 
bears, was appointed governor of Canada. During his administra- 
tion, and that of his predecessor, M. de Courcelles, the French ex- 
plored the greater part of Canada, and the savages were taught tc 




CANADA UNDER THE FRENCH. 




CITADBL OT KIHOSTON TBOM TH« 8T. 



reo^ard the Europeans with some degree of awe. M. Perrot, an 
indefatigable trav^eJler, visited all the nations in the vicinitj^ of the 
Great Lakes. The Falls of St. Mary were surrendered to the 
French sovereign, and a cross erected there, on which were placed 
the national arms. 

Toward the close of Frontenac's administration, fresh difficulties 
occurred with the Iroquois, chiefly through the influence of the 
English traders, who were anxious to secure the fur trade to them- 
selves. M. de la Barre succeeded Frontenac, in 1682, at which 
time the Iroquois had assumed such a tone of defiance, and made 
such formidable preparations, that a general war with the Indians 
seemed inevitable. The new governor found himself in a critical 
situation, more especially as the West India Company, in whose 
hands Canada had been placed, cared little for their trust, so long as 
they could monopolize the fur trade. The whole population num- 
bered but nine thousand inhabitants. To prevent the utter exter- 
mination of these, some decisive measure was necessary ; and, ac- 
cordingly, De la Barre determined on invading the hostile Indians 
themselves. This he did with one thousand troops; but the expe- 
dition resulted in nothing more than an unsatisfactory negotiation 
The niarquis was soon afterwards succeeded by M. de Nouvill^ 



WARS WITH THL' IROQUOIS. 15V 

This officer appears to have entered upon the duties of his station 
Kith a fixed determination to destroy the Iroquois as a nation. The 
means he look to accomphsh this object were as active as they were 
unscrupulous. Having brought with him a considerable reinforce- 
ment, he proceeded with two thou- 
sand troops to Cataraqui, where, 
through the influence of the Jesu- 
its, he induced many of the hostile 
chiefs to meet him at Fort Fronte- 
nac. These were immediately 
seized, loaded with irons, and sent 
to France to be employed in the 
galleys. After this act, the go- 
vernor began the erection of a fort 
at Niagara, notwithstanding his 
being notified of a treaty having 
been concluded b. ween France 
and England, and in lirect opposi- 
tion to the remonstrance of the go- 
vernor of New York. 
FEMALE IROQ0OI3. T'hese proceedittgs aroused the 

whole nation of Iroquois to arms. Fort Frontenac was attacked by 
their warriors, and the surrounding plantations desola^'^d ; and 
French bark, laden with provisions and stores, was captured on Lake 
Ontario. These successful efforts were attended by a policy, singu- 
larly contrasting with the usual want of system characteristic of 
savage warfare. Deputies were sent to treat with De Nouville ; but 
they were attended by five hundred warriors ; while, in case of the 
rejection of their terms, no less than twelve hundred held themselves 
in readiness, near Montreal, to fall upon the settlements, set fire to 
the buildings and corn-fields, and scalp the inhabitants. Under these 
circumstances, the lofty tone of the Indian orator, in stating the con- 
dition of his nation, formed no obstacle to the speedy acceptance of 
the proffered peace, and of the demand that the chiefs then in sla- 
very should be sent for without delay. 

Thus, to all appearances, the difficulties under which the colony 
had long laboured were soon to be adjusted ; an unforeseen event 
dissipated these hopes, and rekindled the flames of war. Le Rat. 
ihe principal chieftain of the Hurons, perceived the danger to which 
bis tribe would be exposed, should their o'J enemy conclude a peace 

o 




158 



CANADA UNDER THE FKENCH. 




wuD the French ; and with a refinement of treachery which woulo 
not disgrace the most artful prl-tician of Europe, he formed a scheme 
to prevent it. Learning that a party of the Iroquois deputies were 
to land at the cascades of the St. Lawrence, on their way to Mon- 
treal ; he and a party of his countrymen lay in ambush and killed 
or captured them as they successively disembarked. He then in- 
formed the prisoners that this crime had been committed at the insti- 
gation of the governor, and that they were to be conveyed to Mon- 
treal and hung. On being informed of the treaty, he feigned the 
greatest astonishment, and loudly exclaimed against the Frenchman's 
treschery, which had made him its tool. He then sent them home, 
retaining one to supply the place of a warrior whom he had lost. 
The governor was entirely ignorant of this transaction, and still 
waited for the deputies of his new allies. In this frame of mind, he 
was visited by Le Rat, and throui^h the artful representations of thai 
'varrior, induced to shoot the Iroquois who had been substituted for 
the slain Huron. Le Rat took care that an old Iroquois slave in his 
possession should witness this execution, although the causes of it 




were carefully concealed : and he was then sent immediately to hi? 
own tribe to report that even this solitary Iroquois, notwithstandino, 
all the remonstrances of Le Rat, could not be saved from the go 
vernor's fury. 

It is easy to conceive the indignation of the Iroquois when they, 
h^^ard of the massacre at the Cascades ; but the last stroke of Le 
Rat's policy roused every element of war and destruction. The 
whole tribe rushed to arms ; and descending on the island of Mon- 
treal, laid it waste by fire and sword, carrying off two hundred pri-- 
soners. The Fort at Cataraqui, like that at Niagara, was blown up 
and abandoned. 

The colony was now in a periluus condition ; its very existence 
was threatened ; and some officer possessing energy of character 
and address in dealing with the savages, was now imperatively de- 
manded. These qualities were united in the Count de Frontenac,. 
who, during his former administration, had made himself both be- 
lt ved and feared by the surrounding tribes. The few errors which 
ted to his recall, experience, it was hoped, would enable him to 
ivoid. He took out with him the captive chiefs which his prede- 
cessor had so unjustly seized, behaving towards them in so fascmat-- 
ing a manner as completely to gain their favour. Oureouhare, th»> 
principal one, rem.ained ever after most strang-ly attached to him 
11 



160^ 



CANADA UNDER THE FRENCH. 




OOaEOURARS. 



Frontenac arrived in 1689, and endeavoured to open a neg-otiation 
with the Iroquois, in which he was seconded by the captive chiefs. 
The Iroquois, however, refused to treat. They complained of the 
former governor's treachery, and, although professing respect for the 
count, they argued that they were unable to perceive how the gover- 
norship could ever be given into different hands. A second attempt 
on the part of Frontenac was attended with like success. Two cir- 
cumstances emboldened the Iroquois to assume this high tone. One 
was, the war between France and England, consequent to the formeT 
power espousing the cause of James II., and which enabled the 
Five Nations to depend on the cordial co-operation of both the Eng- 
lish and Dutch. The other, the treaty lately concluded with the 
Oitawas, by wKich that tribe had severed themselves from the 
French. 

Under these perplexing circumstances, Frontenac formed iht bold 
resolution to invade the English colonies, and, by striking a sudden 
blow, to teach the savages that they were dealing with an enemy 
who could rPimand their respect. Accordingly, he fitted out three 



FRENCH AND ENGLISH WARS. 



lol 



expeditions (1690) destined to act against Maine, New York, and 
New Hanipshire. Casco and Salmon Falls were surprised and 
burnt ; and, soon after, the third party entered Schenectady at dead 
of night, completely surprised it, burnt the dwellings, and massacred 
many of the inhabitants. 

This daring measure roused the English colonists, and a project 
was formed for the complete reduction of Canada. An expedition, 
under Sir William Phipps, sailed from Boston against Gluebec; and 
a second proceeded by land towards Montreal. After capturing 
Acadia and Newfoundland, Phipps appeared before Quebec, and 
summoned it to surrender. Although the garrison ha.d been almost 
completely surprised, a haughty refusal was returned ; and after some 
vain efforts both by sea and land, the expedition returned in disgrace. 
A like result attended the attack on Montreal. A similar invasion the 
next year by the English and Mohawks, under Major Schuyler, was 
'also unsuccessful. 

These attempts were followed by inconsiderable efforts of both 
parties, until the year 1696, when Frontenac resolved on an invasion 
of the English territory with his whole force. Crossing Lake Onta- 
rio and up the Oswego, he entered the country of the Onondagas, 
laid it waste, together with that of the Cayugas, and then returned, 
with but little interruption, to Montreal. The peace of Ryswick 
(1679) put an end to these desultory invasions and soon after nego- 
tiations were commenced with the Iroquois. Frontenac died in 1698, 
but a treaty was' concluded by his successor, CaUieres, in 1700, and 
the prisoners of both parties released. 

Glueen Anne's war, in 1702, renewed the dangers and exertions of 
the American colonies. The English, intoxicated by their successes 
in Europe, commenced a systematic plan for the complete reduction 
of Canada. The Iroquois, however, refused to join them, wisely 
maintaining a strict neutrality. Their efforts were signally unsuc- 
cessful, and the French power in the New World was established 
on a firmer base than ever. A harassing war with the Fox Indians 
interrupted the intercourse with Louisiana, but these savages were 
at length totally defeated. 

From the treaty of Utrecht (1713) until the commencement of 
the Seven Years' War, Canada continued to advance in prosperit}(, 
and finally secured the friendship and co-operation of nearly all the 
neighbouring Indians. Various forts were erected at diff^erent 
places, and circumstances were already favouring the grand schema 



162 



CANADA UNDER THE FRENCH. 



of uniting Canada and Louisiana, which, at a subsequent periol 
was fully accomplished, and which eventuated in the loss of Canada 
and its neighbouring provinces. 

The events which immediately preceded the conquest of Canada 
by the united forces of Great Britain and her colonies, will be fully 
narrated in a subsequent chapter, in connection with the history of 
those British colonies which eventually formed the republic of the 
United States, 




OA.N0X OFOA.NA.DIAK H A. B t T A. N 3 



lAT OF QTJ2BK0. 



CHAPTER X. 



MINOR PKOVINCES OF BRITISH AMERICA. 
I. NOVA SCOTIA. 

HE British possessions in America, exciu 
sive of Canada, may be divided into two 
portions. One embraces the maritime 
provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Sco- 
tia, Newfoundland, and the islands in 
their vicinity. These are all of political 
and financial importance, commensurate 
with their size and natural advantages. 
The second portion includes the vast re- 
gion lying north of Canada, a part of the 
continent little known, inhabited by numerous tribes of Indians, and 
hitherto valuable only for its furs. It is divided by Hudson's Bay 
into Labrador and New Britain. 

These shores were the first towards which voyages of discovery 




164 



BRITISH PROVINCES. 




INDIA.N VILLAOB ON THE ST. LAWBBNCB. 



in North America were directed. The Cabots, Cortereal, and Ver- 
Rzzano, pursued their course, exclusively, either along them or the 
neighbouring part of the United States. The unsuccessful attempt" 
of Mr. Hore and Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in 1536 and 1578, will be 
noticed in a subsequent chapter. 

Their want of success damped for a while the spirit of enterprise 
among the English. Other nations, however, had long looked toward 
the northern and middle shores of AmericaAvith greedy eyes. The 
French, under Verazzano, as we have already seen, had sailed along 
the coast, now forming the boundary of the United States, from Flo- 
rida to New England ; and the Spanish were only prevented from 
following the same track, by their inordinate grasping after wealth, 
which invariably precluded any permanent friendly intercourse with 
the natives. France resumed her efforts before the close of the six- 
teenth century. In 1603, a gentleman, named De Monts, obtained 
from Henry IV. privilege to settle and govern the country near New- 
foundland, with the monopoly of the fur trade. He sailed with foui 
vessels, and on the 16th of May, 1604, reached Nova Scotia. Here 
he confiscated the vessel and effects of a French captain, whom he 
found engaged in trade. After entering the Bay of Fundy and 
making a fruitless attempt to penetrate through it into the St. Law 



HOY A SCOTIA. 



165 




SETTLKilENT OF PORT ROYAL. 



rence, he fixed on an island near the mouth of the St. Croix, as a 
place of settlement. The crew cultivated a piece of ground, -^nd 
erected a fort with neat apartments and a chape.'. But winter set in 
with a severity for which they were unprepared. Their fuel was 
soon exhausted. They were conipelled to drink snow-water, and 
subsist entirely on salted provisions, which at length brought on the 
scurvy in its most aggravated form. Their sufferings during the 
winter were appalling. 

At the end of this season, De Monts sailed southward in search of 
a milder climate. He reached Cape Cod, but the numerous tribes 
of hostile Indians in this neighbourhood were too strong for his 
small party. He returned to St. Cn>ix, and, having obtained a sea 
sonable reinforcement, removed to a spot on the Bay of Fundy 
which, when formerly passed, had appeared very desirable This 
he nimed Port Royal. The whole country, including New Bruns- 
wick, was styled Acadia. De Monts then repaired to France for 
ir.rlhpr supplies; but his people having raised grain and vegetables 
liiid procured abundance of venison, passed two winters very agree- 
ably. But these flattering prospects were blasted by an act of go- 
vernment, depriving De Monts of all his privileges. Soon after, 
(Japtain Argall, being on a voyage in that region, invaded the pro- 



166 



BRITISH PROVIKCES. 




vince without the leaat provocation, attacked a sinall settlement 
named La Have, and carried the inhabitants to Virginia. He at- 
tennpted to excuse this act by alleging that they were pirates; bur 
when the authorities of Jainestovvn would have hung them, he ccn 
lessed the real nature of his act. So far from discountenancing this 
piece of injustice, the British adopted it as a ground to claim the 
whole of Acadia. 

HESE efforts of England's great rival roused 
the spirit of the British. In 1621, Sir William 
Alexander received a grant of the territory 
from the St. Croix to the St. Lawrence, together 
with the usual extravagant and ridiculous 
powers. He sent out an expedition in 1622. 
In consequence of various delays, the naviga- 
tors could not, in the first year, pass beyond Newfoundland, where 
they were obliged to winter. In the following spring, they coasted 
along the ceded country, but found all its principal points, including 
Port Royal, re-occupied by French settlers. They, therefore, re- 
turned to England and spread the most flattering reports of the 
value and beauty of Acadia. This result so far pleased the proprie- 
tor, that, when war broke out with France, he sent out a squadron 
(1627) under his eldest son, by which the French settlements were 
speedily reduced. The subsequent conquest of Canada, in 1629, 
gave Great Britain full possession of this part of the continent. 
It was restored to France by the treaty of St. Germains, 1632. 

The court of Paris having regained possession of the territory, 
divided it (1634j among three individuals. A young man, named 
La Tour, received the middle districts; one Detiys the northern: 
and Razillai the southern. The latter was succeeded by Daubre de 
Charnise, between whom and La Tour there arose an inveterate 
feud. The contest was waged with relentless animosity. La Tour 
received some assistance from Boston, but more from his wife, who, 
being attacked during her husband's absence, beat off the assailants 
with great loss. She was afterwards surprised by Charnise, the 
fort taken, and the garrison hanged. Madame de la Tuur was her- 
self so ill-treated, that she died with vexation. 

Soon after this perfidious transaction, Charnise died, and La Tour 
returned to France. Here he sought to heal the feud by marrying 
the widow of his rival; but when affairs appeared in an amicable 
i-sHin, Le Borgne, an assumed creditor of Charnise, appeared, ci' 



NOVA SCOTIA. 



107 




ing his possessions, and accusing La Tour of heresy, fie thus ma- 
naged to strip the latter of his rights, and then attacking Denys, he 
look him prisoner, destroyed La Have, took possession of Port 
Royal, and prepared to attack La Tour in St. John. But a new 
rival was at hand, far more powerful than either or both of the 
French proprietors, 

OLIVER CROMWELL, having seized the 
reins of power in England, declared war against 
France, and waged it vigorously, with the spe- 
cial view of extending his foreign possessions. 
In 1654, he despatched an expedition against 
Nova Scotia, under the command of iMajor Sedge- 
wick. There was not sufficient force, even if it 
had been united, to resist that officer; so that, after 
defeating La Tour, he advanced against Port 
Royal, where La Borgtie by no means umde that resistance which 
had been expected from his previous resolution. He soon yielded 
the place, and his son, endeavouring to fortify himself at La Have, 
^as made prisoner. 

La Tour, who always accommodated himself to circumstances, 
seeing the country in possession of the English, hastened to make 
his submission, and urged his claim, founded on former transac 
tions between his father and Lord Stirling. He was favourably list- 
ened to; and in conjunction with Temple, afterwards Sir Thomas, 
•ind William Crowne, persons probably of great interest with the 
Protector, obtained a grant of the greater part of the country. The 
former bought up the share of La Tour, spent £16,000 on fortifica- 
tions, and opened a very advantageous trade and fishery. But ail 
his prospects were blasted by the treaty of Breda, concluded by 
Charles II. in 1667, by virtue of which Nova Scotia was again made 
over to France. Temple endeavoured to save something by insist- 
ng on a distinction between the limits of Nova Scotia and Acadia *. 
out not being supported by his government, he was obliged to delive' 
up all. 

The French thus resumed full possession of the colony, which, m 
tact, they had almost exclusively occupied, though in a slight ana 
careless manner; for, from the absence of gold and silver, and even ul 
any rich marketable produce, it was viewed as a barren and unpro- 
mising settlement. A few straggling immigrants stationed them- 
selves from lime to time along the coast; and yet, according Man 



168 



BRITISH PROVINCES. 




FISHING STATION ON THS COAST OF NOVA SCOTIA 

enumeration made about 1680, the whole population did not exceed 
nine hundred. Even the fishery, the only productive branch, was 
carried on by the English. A few forts were scattered at wide inter- 
vals ; but so weak and small, that two of them were taken and plun 
dered by a single piratical vessel of no great force. 

In this situation, after the breaking out of the war consequent 
upon the Revolution of 1688, Acadia appeared an easy conquest. 
The achievement was assigned to Massachusetts, the resources of 
which were by no means ample ; but the commander. Sir William 
Phipps, contrived to equip an expedition of seven hundred men 

On the 20th of xMay, 1690, he appeared before Port Royal. It 
soon surrendered on advantageous terms, which Phipps, discovering 
that the place was weaker than he had supposed, did not faithfully 
observe. He merely dismantled the fortress, and left the country a 
prey to pirates, by whom it was unmercifully ravaged. The Che- 
valier VillabdU, therefore, who arrived soon after from France, re- 
conquered it, by simply pulling down the English and hoisting the 
French flag. The neighbouring Indians, always partial to his couu- 



NOVA SCOTIA. 



169 




MARLBOROUGH. 



trymeii, were easily induced to join them against the enemy, and 
aided in capturing the strong frontier fortress of Pemaquid, where 
these savage warriors were guilty of some of their usual acts of 
cruelty. The Bostonians, thus roused, sent a body of five hundred 
men under Colonel Church, who soon regained the country, with the 
exception of one fort on the St. John. He then called on the Aca- 
dians to join him against the Indians, their former allies, and on 
their refusal, plundered and burned many of their habitations. The 
situation of these colonists, while passing continually from hand to 
hand, was truly lamentable. They were naturally and strongly at- 
tached to France, their native country ; yet the English, after the 
most sHght and partial conquest, claimed of them all the duties of 
British subjects, and, on failure, inflicted the wonted penalties of 
rebellion. No alten)pts were made to wrest the province out of the 
hands of Britain till the treaty of Ryswick, in 1696, when William, 
having secured his most essential objects, followed the usual policy 
of alxOw'ing the French to resume this distant and httle valued pos- 
session. 

This peace was speedily succeeded, in 1702, by the memorable 
war of the Spanish Succession under Queen Anne. That contest, 
distinguished in Europe by the victories of Marlborough, and other 
splendid events, was also marked by an increased importance at- 
tached to colonial acquisitions; while the settlers in North America 
seemed to feel, even more deeply than their countrymen at home, the 
animosity which divided the two nations. The ignorant and extra va 

«2 P 



170 



BRITISH PROVINCES. 



ganl grants made by each party, were found, as discovery extended, 
more and more to clash with each other, and afforded constant pre- 
texts for hostility. 7'he reduction of Nova Scotia was again left to 
Massachusetts; and she was encouraged to undertake it by the 
assurance, that what should be gained by arms would not again be 
sacrificed by treaty. The first expedition, which consisted of five 
hundred and fifty men, was despatched in 1704, under Colonel 
Church, who found little resistance while committing ravao-es which 
did honour neither to himself nor his country. Three years after- 
wards, a force of a thousand soldiers was sent to complete the con- 
quest of the country ; but Subercase, the French commandant at Port 
Koyal, conducted the defence of that place with such spirit and abi- 
lity, that the assailants were twice obliged to raise the siege with 
considerable loss. 

The determination of the New EngJanders, however, could not be 
shaken. After two years spent in preparaiioH, they assembled a 
much larger force, consisting of fiv^e regiments, four of them levied 
in the colony. It was placed under the command of General Ni 
cholson, who arrived at Port Royal, on the 24th of September, 1710, 
when Subercase, with a garrison of only two hundred and sixty, 
declining to attempt a vain resistance, obtained an honourable capi- 
tulation. The troops marched out with the honours of war, and 
were conveyed to France. The deed of surrender, signed on the 
2d of October, forms the era when, after so many vicissitudes. Nova 
Scotia was permanently annexcc tu the British crown. 

The intelligence of this disaster was received at Paris with a 
regret not before felt on similar occasions ; it being clearly foreseen, 
that if the country could not be recon(]uered by force of arms, there 
was no hope of regaining it by treaty. Yet the urgent state of 
affairs in Europe rendered it impossible to detach from that quarter 
any considerable expedition ; and the governor of Canada was de- 
terred from hostile operations by a threatened invasion of his own 
territory. Overtures were made to the merchants of Rochelle to 
equip an armament, which would be rewarded by large and profit- 
able establishments on the coast; but they rightly judged that the 
expense of such an enterprise would be heavy, and the profit doubt- 
ful. The Enghsh, however, were considerably harassed by risings 
among the native French and Indians, down to the peace of Utrecht, 
in 1713. Although that treaty did not fulfil all that was expected, it 
secured to Britain tlie full sovereignty of Nova Scotia, with the ex- 



NOVA SCOTIA. 171 

ception of Cape Breton and the other islands in the gulf of St. Law 
rence. 

ENERAL NICHOLSON, who had con- 
quered the country, was, in 1714, appointed 
governor, and five years afterwards was 
succeeded by Colonel PhiUips. The name 
of the capital was changed from Port Royal 
to Annapolis. But though the right of 
Britain to Nova Scotia was now fully ac- 
knowledged, she found it a possession not a little troublesome. 
Attempts were made to attract settlers both from England and the 
American colonies ; but, owing to the rigour of the climate and the 
hostility of the two races by which it was peopled, only a few could 
be induced to remain in the country. 

The Indians were beyond measure astonished on being informed 
that they were subjects of the King of Great Britain, transferred to 
him by a treaty to which they were not parties. On their inquiring 
whether such an arrangement had really been made, the French 
commanders informed them that they had never been mentioned in 
the treaty, and consequently were considered an independent people, 
while the British maintained that they were, as a matter of course, 
made over along with the territory. The Indians set at naught this 
last conclusion, and carried on a long and desperate war, in which 
their rapid movements, and skill in the arts of surprise, enabled them 
to gain many advantages. In 1720, they plundered a large esta- 
bhshment at Canseau, carrying off fish and merchandise to the 
value of ^620,000 ; and in 1723, they captured at the same place 
seventeen sail of vessels, with numerous prisoners. The British 
inhabitants of Nova Scotia were obliged to sohcit the aid of Massa- 
chusetts, which, in 1728, sent a body of troops against the chief 
Indian fort on the Kennebeck. It was stormed, the warriors pur- 
sued with great slaughter, and Ralle, their Catholic missionary, put 
to death, it is alleged, with circumstances of great cruelty. The 
savages were thus for some time overawed, though they eagerly 
watched an opportunity of renewing hostilities. 

After an unusually long peace, the habitual enmity of the two 
nations broke out in a fresh war, declared by France, in March, 
1744. Gluesnel, governor of Cape Breton, immediatelv fitted out 
expeditions which took Canseau, and twice laid siege to Innapolis, 
but without success. These movements were condemned by the 




172 



BRITISH PROVINdES. 



court as premature, and tending to endanger the safet}' of Louis 
bourg, which was then ill prepared for defence. That city, well 
situated for fishing, though in a barren country, had been fortified by 
the French at an expense of £ 1 ,200,000, with a view to make it the 
bulwark of their possessions in North America. It was surrounded 
by a stone wall, two miles and a half in circuit, and by a ditch 
eighty feet wide. When, tlterefore, Shirley, governor of New Eng- 
land, proposed to the counc I the expediency of reducing it, the plan 
was at first rejected as visionary ; though, on reconsideration, it was 
carried by a single vote. Extraordinary zeal, corresponding to the 
magnitude of the enterprise, was employed in the preparation ; and 
yet the force destined against this great fortress, garrisoned by regu- 
lar troops, Consisted entirely of militia and volunteers, hastily levied 
and led on by Colonel William Pepperel, a gentleman extensively 
engaged in commerce. Massachusetts furnished three thousand two 
hundred men, Connecticut five hundred, and New Hampshire three 
hundred. They were animated with a species of religious enthu- 
siasm, as entering on an anti-papal war. Mr. Whitefield, a cele- 
brated Methodist preacher, furnished a motto, and a chaplain carried 
on his shoulder a hatchet to demolish the images. The army em- 
barked in a number of small vessels, and early in April, 1745, 
arrived at Canseau. Here they were detained three weeks ; but 
the French were so little on their guard, that they learned nothing 
of the presence of an enemy even when in their close vicinity. 
Application had been made to Commodore AVarren, then on the 
West India station, for the assistance of the fleet ; but to Shirley's 
great disappointment, he did not consider himself authorized to take 
such a step. This, however, was concealed from the troops ; and 
on their arrival at Canseau, they were gratified to find the commo-^ 
dore, who, in consequence of subsequent instructions, had come to 
join them. On the 30th of April, the English came in view of 
Louisbourg, and, being quite unexpected, easily effected a landing ; 
they even took a battery, and turned the guns against the city, 
they had, nevertheless, to sustain during a fortnight the laborious 
task of drawing cannon through a morass, where they were up to 
the knees in mud, and exposed to the enemy's fire. It was the 28th 
of May before the batteries could be completed, and active opera- 
tions commenced ; and such was the strength of the place, that the 
besiegers were repulsed in five successive attacks, in the last of 
which, they lost a hundred anc" eighty-nine men. But the works 



NOVA SCOTIA. 



173 




were now considerably damaged, and Warren havmg captured ttie 
Vigihm, a hne-of-battle ship, containin^r five hundred and sixty men 
and supplies, Duchambon, the governor, lost courage, and capitulated 
on the 18th of June. On viewing the strength of the fortress, the 
victors were perfectly astonished at their success; and the French 
commander excused himself on account of the mutinous disposition 
of h,s garrison. The achievement was highly creditable to a body 
of merchants and husbandmen, destitute of either skill or experience 
ir> mibtary affairs. The reduction of the island of St. John, no^. 
Prince Edward, soon followed, and by hoisting the French flag from 
the captured ports, the coionis5l:s decoyed into them a South Sea ves- 
sel, and two East India ships, the cargoes of which were valued a 



^'H00,000. 

p8 



174 



BRITISH PROVINCES. 



Extraordinary chao^rin wa? felt by 
the court of Louis XV. at a disasi r 
for which they niust have been h't 
prepared. To retrieve it, an expe- 
dition was fitted out on so great a 
scale as to render the American seas, 
for the first time, the main theatre 
of war. It consisted of seventy 
ships, including eleven of the line, 
having on board upwards of three 
thousand dic:ciplined troops. Being 
placed under the Duke d'Anville, an 
officer of great military reputation, 
it was intended first to reduce Louis- 
Louis XV. bourg, then Annapolis, next Boston, 

afterwards to range along the whole coast of North America, and 
finally to visit the West Indies. Early in the summer of 1740, the 
armament sailed from Brest, and passed, unnoticed, a British squad- 
ron, placed to observe its motions. Admiral Lestocq left Portsmouth 
in pursuit, but was repeatedly driven back by contrary winds, and 
hence the colonies were left to depend on their own resources. 
Here, however, the good fortune of the French commander termi- 
nated. He had a most tedious and tempestuous passage, being 
ninety days in reaching Chebucto ; and by that time four ships of 
the line were so shattered as to be obliged to return to Europe, while 
three, sent under Admiral Cc nflans, by the West Indies, had touched 
at the point of rendezvous, but not finding the fleet, had also set sail 
homewards. D'Anville, overpowered, it should seem, by distress 
and disappointment, died suddenly ; and Destournelle, the vice- 
admiral, in a few days became delirious, and ran himself through 
the body. In these calamitous circuiiistances, it was out of the 
question to attempt Louisbourg ; but De la Jonquiere, governor of 
CJanada, having assumed the command, determined to proceed 
against AnnapoL's. In rounding Cape Sable, however, he had to 
sustain a fresh tempett, which so dispersed and injured the remain- 
ing ships of the fleet, that they instantly steered for Europe. Thus 
this mighty firmament, which was expected to efl^ect the conquest of 
all North America, was completely baffled, without meeting an 
enemy. The colonists regarded it as a special interposition of Pro 
vidence, and celebrated the event by a general thanksgiving. 




KOVA SCOTIA. 



175 



The French, however, were indefatigable. Do ]a Jonquiere was 
immediately sent out with thirty-eight sail ; but having on his way 
encountered Admirals 'Anson and Warren, he was completely de- 
feated, losing a ship of the line, and six richly laden East Indiamen 
which he had under convoy. The settlers then could not allow 
themselves to doubt, that in the treaty now negotiating. Cape Breton 
and Louisbourg, so important for the safety as well as compactness 
sf their territory, would be secured to them. But the British minis- 
try, with a view to preserve entire the possessions of their ally, the 
empress queen, and to maintain the balance of power in Europe, 
agreed to restore these conquests. However sound might be this 
policy in itself, its result could not fail to prove very mortifying to 
the American provincials, who had made the acquisition by so bril- 
liant an exertion of courage and enterprise. 

Britain now began to pay more attention to Nova Scotia. Hitherto 
it had been quite a French country, peopled and cultivated through 
out by that hostile nation. It was suggested, that of the large num- 
ber of soldiers and sailors discharged in consequence of the peace, a 
part might with great advantage be located as agriculturists, and 
thereby provide the colony with an English population. This pro- 
ject was embraced with ardour by the Earl of Halifax, then presi- 
dent of the Board of Trade and Plantations. Fifty acres were 
allowed to every private, with ten additional for each member of his 
family. A higher allowance was granted to officers, in proportion 
to their rank, till it amounted to six hundred for all above that of 
captain. By this encouragement, three thousand seven hundred 
and sixty adventurers, with their families, were induced to embark 
ill JVlay, 1749. They were landed, not at Annapolis, but at Che- 
bucto, named henceforth Halifax, after the patmn of the expedition.. 

The only inhabitants visible were small Dands of savages, who 
glanced on them with a jealous and hostile eye, and then fled into 
the interior. The Elonourable Edward Cornwallis, who had been 
appointed governor, nevertheless, inspired the settlers with a spirit 
of activity and emulation ; planks and other materials were procured 
from New England ; and, before winter, a neat wooden town, with spa- 
cious and regular streets, had been reared. The enforced idleness 
of that season was not a httle dangerous to many of the immigrants. 
However, a strict police was established; the government wat 
lodged in a council of six, who, uniting the executive with legisla- 
ive and judicial functions, formed a somewhat arbitrary body ; bat 
12 



176 




HALIFAX. 



fhere were scarcely materials as yet for any other. Parliament con- 
linued to support the colony by annual grants, which, in 1755, had 
amounted to the enormous sum of ^£41 5,584. 

Although the settlers seemed thus firmly established, they soon 
found themselves in an uneasy and difficult position. The Indians 
made at first some friendly overtures ; but the influence of their old 
allies is said to have soon determined them to resume a system of the 
most active hostility. The Englis^h, notwithstandino- their military 
habits, v^^ere ill-prepared to meet the desultory warfjjre of enemies 
who, stealing through the depth of swamps and thickets by paths 
which none but themselves could tread, appeared, struck the blow, 
and vanished. Tuey even made attacks upon Halifax ; and the 
colonists could not remove from that place singly or in small parties, 
for extending or improving their settlement, without imminent peril. 
When made captive, their fate was dreadful — scalping, torture, and 
death ; or, if spared, they were dragged by long marches through 
trackless forests, suffering intolerable hardships. Many were car- 
ried to Louisbourg, where they were purchased as an article of mer- 
chandise. The French professed themselves actuated solely by a 
wish to save them from the dreadful fate that otherwise awaited 
them; yet these tender feelings, it was observed, never prevented 
ihein from extortiiiji most exorbitant ransoms. There is great rea 



NEW BRUNSWICK. 



177 



son to believe, that no means were employed to conciliate this unfor- 
lunate and injured race. It was determined to treat them, not as 
regular enemies, but as traitors and rebels ; and that they might be 
rivalled in barbarity, a price was put upon Indian scalps. 

Another circumstance which placed the colony in an uneasy situ 
ation, was the boundary contests with France. The history of thift 
affair, however, which brought on the bloody conflicts of the Seven 
Years' War, will come under our notice in a subsequent chaptei 




II. NEW BRUNSWICK. 

EW BRUNSWICK did not exist as 
a separate colony, until 1783. Pre- 
vious to this, the French had claimed 
it under the title of New France, as 
part of Acadia, and the English, in 
their turn, as part of Nova Scotia. 
When the latter province was ceded 
to the British government, France 
still claimed New Brunswick as 
part of Canada ; but the peace of 
1763 settled these conflicting claims, by giving the whole province 
to England. Still, it was left unoccupied except by a few Acadians, 
who had sought refuge among its forests from the relentless perse- 
cution to which they were exposed. In 1762, some families from 




178 



BRITISH PROVINCES. 




SIK GUY CARLETON 



New England settled at Mangerville, about fifty miles up the St. 
John. In twenty years, their numbers had increased to eight hun- 
dred. At the close of the Revolutionary War, several thousand dis- 
banded British troops were placed at Frederickton. But having been 
accustomed to the comforts of civilized life, these new colonists suf 
fered great hardships, and a long season of privation, betore they 
could place their families in comfortable situations. 

In 1785, Sir Guy Carleton was appointed governor, and made 
vigorous exertions for the improvement of the country, which gra- 



NEW BRUNSWICK. 



179 



lually, though slowly, advanced. On his return to England, (1803,^ 
'jotii 1817, the government was administered by presidents. In 
1809, the duty on Baltic timber was advanced to nearly ^63, while 
ihat of the colonies remained free. This laid -he foundation of the 
present flourishing condition of New Brunsw ok. The countrv lias 
continued to increase gradually in prosperi y, under a su^'.ession of 
different rulers down to the present time. 

In connection with Canada, New Brunswick shared in the long 
dispute between Great Britain and the United States, concernmg the 
north-eastern boundary. The terms of the treaty of 1783, by leav- 
ing the exact line uncertain, had given rise to controversy, which, 
becoming more angry as it advanced, at length threatened an open 
rupture between the claimants. The territory subject to this ambi- 
guity, formed, in 1783, a tract of wild forest, scarcely ever trodden 
by a European. But, as settlements increased, and with them cul> 
tivation of soil, the fine timber became an object to both parties. In 
1829, an agreement was made to refer the question to the King of 
Holland. He returned an answer in 1831, declaring the impossibi- 
lity of defining a boundary according to the terms of the treaty, but 
recon mending a hne extending dong the St. Croix, the St. John, 
and thonce to the head of the Con ecticut. This the United States 
Senate rejected, proposing a new arbitrary line. While the ques- 
tion remained thus undecided, trespassers from each side entered the 
territory to cut timber. Expeditions were sent against them, who, 
in their turn, took possession of the ground. Matters grew worse 
every day, and a border war seemed inevitable, when an agreement 
was made between Mr. Fox, the British ambassador, and Mr. For- 
syth, the American secretary of state, to the effect that the govern 
ment of Maine should voluntarily withdraw its military force, and 
any further arrangements against trespassers be made by the two 
powers jointly. A convention to this effect was signed by the two 
governors, March 23 and 25, 1839. The subsequent condition of 
affairs, up to the conclusion of the " Ashburton Treaty," aie reserved 
for a subsequent chapter. 



180 



BRITISH PROVINCES. 



ni. PRINCE Edward's island. 




berland Strait separates it from these provinces. Its greatest length 
IS about a hundred and thirty-five miles, the breadth varying from a 
single mile to thirty-four. The whole island is deeply indented by 
bays and inlets, so that scarcely one spot can be found removed 
more than seven or eight miles f am tide-water. It is supposed, by 
Robertson and others, to be the land reached by Cabot in 1497, and 
subsequently visited by Verazzano. This is, however, very doubt- 
ful. The first definite notice given of it is by Champlain, who, 
naming it St. John, accurately describes its situation and extent ind 
notices its harbours. 

The cession of Acadia to Great Britain, by the treaty of Uirechl 
was an event favourable to the neighbouring islands. St. John re- 
ceived a number of French settlers; who, by their industry, soon 
gave a flourishing appearance to the island. It was captured by the 
New England forces, in 1745, but restored to France by the treaty 
of Aix-la-Chapelle. 

After the second reduction of Louisbourg in 175S, that of St 
John followed, and it became permanently attached to the British 
crown. The number of inhabitants, at that time, is variously rated 
at ten thousand, six thousand, and four thousand one hundred ; the 
last probably nearest the truth. They had brought a very consider- 
able portion of land under cultivation ; had large stocks of horn*^d 
cattle; and some of them could send twelve hundred bushels of 
fc'-heat to the market of Gluebec. They were now doomed, how 



PKINCE EDWARD'S ISLAND. 



181 



ever, to the same relentless proscription as their brethren m Nova 
Scotia ; and the pretext was, that a number of English scalpp were 
found in the French governor's house. There was, no doubt, a 
just ground of suspicion; though the British might have recollected 
that they themselves had offered premiums for these trophies. They 
were unquestionably brought in by the Indians, and at all events 
afforded no apology for inflicting vengeance upon thousands of 
peaceable and industrious settlers. The details of the expulsion are 
not stated ; but it appears that a certain number were sent to Ca- 
nada, others to the southern colonies, and some to France, while it 
is admitted that tnany contrived to conceal themselves. So complete, 
however, was the desolation, that, in 1770, twelve years after, there 
were found only a hundred and fifty families. 

The island was confirmed to Britain, in 1763 ; but some years 
elapsed before measures, not reinarkably judicious, were taken for 
this settlement. Lord Egremont formed a strange scheme, by which 
it was to be divid'-d into twelve districts, ruled by as many barons, 
each of whom was to erect a castle on his own property, while that 
nobleman was to preside as l(jrd paramount. This ridiculous plan 
was changed for another not much wiser. In August, 1767, a divi- 
sion was made into sixty-seven townships, of about twenty thousand 
acres each, which, with some reservations, were made over to indi- 
viduals supposed to possess claims upon the government. They 
became bound to settle the country in ten years, to the extent of at 
least one person for two hundred acres. Their exertions in this 
respect, however, were not very effective ; and when they resolved, 
as the only means of rendering the property valuable, to retail it in 
small lots, their prices were too high ; nor could they grant that 
soccage tenure under the crown, which is esteemed the most se- 
cure. 

ONSIDERABLE efforts, however, were at 
first made to rescue the island from its state 
of desolation. The proprietors succeeded in 
procuring for it a governor, independent of 
Nova Scotia, though, as already mentioned, 
there were only a hundred and fifty families 
resident on it. Mr. Patterson, appointed to 
that office, in 1770, brought back a number 
of the exiled Acadians. Tracady was settled by Captain Macdo 
nald with three hundred Highlanders ; and Chief Biron Montgomery 

Q 




182 BRITISH PROVINCES. 

rnadr great efforts to fulfil his proprietary obligations. A beginning 
was thus made, a good report was spread, the colony received gra 
dual accessions, and, in 1773, a constitution being given, the first 
House of Assembly was called. But the governor and General 
Fanning, who succeeded in 1789, were involved in contests with the 
proprietors and settlers, who accused them of culpable eagerness to 
acquire landed property for themselves ; these feuds, however, seem 
to have caused no material injury. 

In 1799, inconvenience having been felt from the island bearing 
the same name with the chief towns in New Brunswick and New- 
foundland, it was changed to Prince Edward, in honour of the late 
Duke of Kent, who, as commander in America, had directed some 
valuable improvements. In 1803, the late Earl of Selkirk, who gave 
so great an impulse to emigration, carried over an impoitant colony, 
consisting cf about eight hundred Highlanders. He made the 
necessary arrangements with so much judgment, that the settlers 
soon became very prosperous, and with the friends who have since 
joined them, now amount to upwards of four thousand. 

Governor Desbarres, who succeeded Fanning, was a man of talent i 
and though his administration was considered by no means prudent, 
yet, at no former period did the colony advance so rapidly. In 
1813, he was succeeded by Mr. Smyth, whose violent and tyrannical 
conduct caused a general agitation in the colony. For several years 
previous to 1823, he had prevented the meeting of the House of 
Assembly, and when a committee of the inhabitants was appointed to 
draw up a petition for his removal, he caused them to be arrested. 
Mr. Stewart, the high-sherifl^, however, though at the age of sixty- 
six, made his escape to Nova Scotia, and thence to England ; where 
the real state of things was no sooner made known than the governor 
was recalled, and Lieutenant-colonel Ready appointed to succeed 
him. The conduct of this last gave general satisfaction ; and, in 
conjunction with the House of Assembly, he passed many useful 
acts, and took various measures to promote the continued improve- 
ment of the colony. In 1831, Colonel Young received the appoint- 
ment, and ruled as lieutenant-governor till 1830, in which year Sir 
John Harvey was named his successor. Sir John was very popular; 
but being, in 1837, removed to the government of New Brunswick 
his place was supplied by Sir Charles A. Fitzroy. Since this time, 
I bo island has presented little to attract the attention of the historian 



NEWFOUNDLAND. 



183 




IV. NEWFOUNDLAND. 

EWFOUNDLAND is a large island, the mosl 
important of the British possessions adjacent to 
the eastern coast of North America. On one 
side it almost touches the continent, but on the 
other stretches far out into the Atlantic. Its 
entire circuit is one thousand miles. The most 
striking natural feature connected with the 
island, are the Banks, shallow places in the 
ocean, near which cod and other fish abound to such an extent as to 
supply the world, and give to the island, through the fisheries, a 
mosi important station in the rank of colonial provinces. The same 
p-oductive character distinguishes the shores of Labrador. In these 
fHmpestuous seas, the nations of Europe ahd America have for ages 
laboured indefatigably with nets, lines, and every imaginable pro 
cess, and yet not the slightest diminution of fruitfulness has evoj 
been observed. 




184 



BRITISH PKOVINCES. 




OOD-FISH3RY, NBWFOUNDLA.ND. 



Newfoundland was discovered by Cabot, in 1497, and has since 
been claimed by Great Britain. Attention was speedily drawn to 
the cod-fisheries. In 1517, an English vessel reported having seen 
forty ships — Portuguese, French, and Spanish — employed on the 
coast. In 1586,'an Englishman, named Hore, attempted a settle- 
ment, but failed. He was followed by the equally unfortunate Sir 
Humphrey Gilbert. During the whole of the sixteenth century, the 
English were less successful in the fisheries than other nations ; 
and the failure of repeated attempts at settlement damped the spirit 
of the nation. 

At the opening of the seventeenth century, schemes to colonize 
the northern territory were commenced on a large scale. These ori- 
ginated in Mr. Guy, a wealthy merchant of Bristol, who published 
several pamphlets, and induced a number of influential persons al 
court to engage in the undertaking. Among these were Lord 
Bacon, Lord Northampton, keeper of the seals, and Sir Francis 
Tanfield, chief baron of the Exchequer. These, with forty-one other 
persons, received a patent to colonize Newfoundland. They were 
invested with the entire property of the land, soil, and mines, and a 
general grant made of those privileges, which the crown could no 
find time to enumerate. The only reservation was the right of fish 
prv on the coast of Newfoundland to any English subject. 



NEWFOUNDLAND. iS5 

Mr. Guy was appointed governor of the new colony. In 1610, 
he conveyed thither thirty-nine persons in three vessels, and em- 
ployed them in constructing a dwelling and store-house, with an 
enclosure a hundred and twenty feet by ninety, in which were 
planted three pieces of ordnance. He gave flattering accounts of 
the country to government, and seems to have bent all his energies 
to the rearing up of a prosperous colony. On returning in the fol- 
lowing season, he appointed William Colston in his stead, who was 
by no means so sanguine in his hopes and efl^orts as his predecessor. 
Guy returned in 1612. One of his first acts was to sail along the 
coast on a voyage of discovery ; during which he dealt amicably 
with the natives. In a year, he again returned to England, and the 
coloiiy afterwards languished greatly. Some time after, (1615,) Cap- 
tain Whitbourne was sent out to hold a court of admiralty, and pro- 
vide a check for the numerous abuses to which the fishermen were 
subjected ; but he found it impossible to do more than specify the 
evils and propose remedies. 

BOUT the year 1621, Sir George 
Calvert, afterwards Lord Baltimore, 
obtained a grant of a tract from Cape 
St. Mary to the Bay of Bulls. His 
object was to form a settlement 
where members of the Roman Ca- 
tholic religion might enjoy the free 
exercise of their opinions. Viscount 
Faulkland undertook to send a colo- 
ny from Ireland, of which he was then lord-lieutenant. Other gen- 
tlemen made similar offers. Many efforts were made to secure the 
comforts of the settlers, and especially to enlist their feelmgs in the 
enterprise. But, although the colonists appear to have been nume- 
rous, few details are given of their progress. Lord Baltimore himself 
visited the colony, and built a strong fort and handsome house at Fer- 
ryland, where he resided for some time. About twenty years after 
this first plantation, the number of families in different parts of the 
coast had swelled to three hundred and fifty. The importance of the 
fishery grew with that of the colony, so that, in 1626, one hundred 
and fifty vessels sailed thither from Devonshire ; and England began 
to supply the other countries of Europe with the products of the 
fish e lies. 




BRITISH PKUVINCES. 




LORD BALTIMORB. 



When Lord Baltimore returned to England, he became so engaged 
with his Maryland colony, as to find little time to bestow on the one 
already planted. The settlers consequently sunk into comparative 
neglect, and, giving up all attempts at culture of the soil, devoted 
themselves to the fisheries. 

This branch of industry was now assuming that importance 
which it so well merits. The French embarked in it with their 
customary zeal, and even formed a colony in the Bay of Placentia, 
in order to carry it on more conveniently. In 1663, it was er.cou- 
xaged by the repeal of all duties. But this so far increased the 



NEWFOUNDLAND. 



1ST 



number of individual adventurers, that the British began to ft-ar a 
decrease in the government profits. The barbarous remedy of root- 
ing out the colony was proposed by Josiah Child, a merchant of Lon 
don, and immediately carried into execution. Sir John Berry was 
employed to burn the houses and drive out the settlers. That offi- 
cer seems to have mitigated as much as possible his cruel commis- 
sion, and sent home strong remonstrances as to the misery which he 
had reluctantly occasioned. In 1616, Downing, a resident, procured 
an order from the king, that the people should be no further mo- 
lested ; but, at the same time, strict injunctions were issued, that no 
vessel should carry out any emigrants, or permit them to settle. 

During the war with France, consequent to the Revolution ol 
1688, Newfoundland suffered severely. Although the English 
claimed the territory, the French had fortified a number of settle- 
ments, which they were now unwilling to abandon. In 1692, Com- 
mander Williams attacked Placentia, but without success ; and an 
attempt, by the French, upon St. John, (1696,) was attended with a 
like result. A second trial resulted in its capture and destruction, 
and soon after Ibberville rooted out all the E^nglish stations, except Bona 
Vista and Carbonier. These successes were nullified by the treaty 
of Ryswick, which compensated each party for its losses during the 
war. I)uring the war of the succession, Newfoundland was again 
taken by the French, but restored by the peace of Utrecht, in 1713. 
Newfoundland then continued to increase in importance, with but 
slight interruptions, until the War of Independence. In 1775, the 
New England colonists were forbidden to participate in the fisheries ; 
but, in revenge, these high-spirited men refused to supply the crewss 
of vessels with provisions ; a plan that reduced them almost to star 
vation. They thus found it necessary either to return home or to 
repair to some of the other colonies. At the close of the war, 
Great Britain repealed most of her onerous laws, and from that time 
both the settlements of Newfoundland and its fisheries increased 
rapidly in prosperity. The latter are now free to all nations, and 
numbers of ships are annually employed by the great maritiuje 
powers of England, France, and the United States, in this dan- 
gerous occupation. The total population of Newfoundland is at 
present about seventy thousand, of whom more than one-half are 
Uoman C<i*l> )lics. 



188 



BRITISH PROVINCES. 




3!NTRA.NCB NTO HUDSON'S BAT 



V. LABRADOR AND NEW BRITAIN. 

E have divided the territory north oi 
Canada into two great na- 
tural divisions, known as 
Labrador and New Bri- 
tain. The former country 
is of very little historical 
importance. The coast 
was first discovered by 
Sebastian Cabot, in 1496, 
and was afterwards visited (1501) and named (Terra Labrador) by 
Ga.<par Cortereal. During the sixteenth century, it was visited by 
various Europeans, and attempts made to settle and carry on 
the cod-fishery along the coast. An impulse was given to these 
efforts by the Moravian missionaries, who, in 1752, settled at Hope- 
dale and other places. After numerous hardships, they obtained 
from government, in May, 1769, a tract of land, on which to settle 
and carry ©n their praiseworthy exertions. The missions have 
existed through great vicissitudes, until the present time. Their 




NEW BRITAIN. 



189 




TRADING WITH THE INDIANS FOR ? TJ R 3 



settlements are, however, small, and principally along the 

eastern coast. The interior is little known. 

New Britain is an immense country, stretching from Canada to 
the Polar sea, with an averaf^e breadth of twenty-six hundred miles. 
I'he southern portion is a flat prairie land, traversed by large rivers, 
and gifted with a highly fruitful soil. The woody portion lies 
around Hudson's Bay; while the western territories are rugged and 
mountainous. The whole country owes its importance almost en- 
tirely to the valuable furs derived from the animals that swarm in 
rvery quarter. 

The eastern coast of New Britain was Ctirly visited by European*;. 



190 



BRITISH PROVIXCES. 



in the hope of discovering a north-west passage to India. In 1517, 
Sebastian Cabot first visited Hudson's Bay, which he viewed as a 
communication to the coveted regions of the east. Th's voyage was 
subsequently forgotten; so that when Hudson, in 1610, sailed 
through the straits now bearing his name, and found a broad expanse 
of water, it was cons dered a new discovery, and named by him 
Hudson's Sea. He wintered within the straits, and finally perished 
by a mutiny of the crew. 

This expedition was followed by others, all of which steered in the 
same direction with Hudson, but were more fortunate in discovery. 
Southampton island was discovered by *^'r Thomas Button, in 1612 
or 1613. He named it Carey's Swan's-nest. He passed the win- 
ter at Nelson's river, fir^t seen by him, but was prevented from pur- 
suing his voyage by excessive cold and the consequent discouraje- 
ment of his crew. Baffin's Bay was explored by Bylot and Baffin, 
in 1616. On the 5ih of May, 1631, Luke Fox, an enterprising 
mariner, who had been equipped by the London merchants, sailed 
on a voyage of discovery. When off Cape Warwick, (June 21,) 
his progress was arrested by ice and currents. He describes an 
iceberg as a prodigious thing, sometimes mountain high ; but here 
there were no pieces larger than a great church — their extent vary- 

, jj^^ from a perch to two acres. On the 

/ j 26th, these icebergs lay around him so 

' ' 3| thick, that he knew not what wind lo 

; , ^ Tt -T i P^^y ^or to extricate himself of them. 

^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^'^^^^ On released from this danger, he 

north as 66° 47'. Here his crew be 
came disheartened, and retracing his course, he returned tu Eng'and. 
A similar expedition, sent out by the Bristol merchants, met u -th a 
like result. The crew passed a winter in Hudson's Bay, and suf 
fered the most deplorable evils, until the return of summer. 

In June, 1688, a Frenchman, named Grosseliez, sent out an expe- 
dition under the patronage of Prince Rupert of England. The 
crew wintered in a river called Rupert, and, on returning, presented 
so favourable a report, that the prince and other noblemen sub- 
scribed a capital of £10,500, and obtained a charter for the exclusive 
trade and .administration of the countries around Hudson's Bay. 
Settlements were formed on Rupert's, Moose, and Albany rivers • 



NEW BRITAIN. 



191 




BXPBDITION OT CAPTAIN FABRY 

and in 1685, two more on the Nelson and Severn. In 169Q, their 
affiiirs were in such a flourishing condition, that the proprietors 
trebled iheir original capital. This success excited the envy of the 
French, who speedily made themselves masters of the principal set- 
tlements. They retained ihem with but little interruption until the 
peace of Utrecht, in 1713, which restored them to Britain. 

Two companies were now formed in England, each of which 
strove to outdo its rival in discovery and colonization. These wert 
the Hudson's Bay Company and the North-western. In 1771 
Samuel Hearne, empl<n'ed by the first, descended the Copper 
mine River, and found it terminating in an unknown part of the 
Arctic Ocean. In 1789, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, a partner of the 
North-west Fur Company, sailed down the stream bearing his name 
and made observations which left little doubt of its opening mto an- 
other portion of the same expanse. He also penetrated, m 1789 
across the Rocky Mountains, and reached the coast of the Pacitic. 
These discoveries kindled a species of enthusiasm in the British 
nation; and, after the close of the European war, in 1815, she 
engaged in a series of attempts to penetrate to India, by the North- 
u-est. Captain Parry repeatedly penetrated into the Polar Sea. 
iiiid discovered a range of large islands, to the south of which were 
extensive coasts, stretching out of sight. Soon after. Captain Ross 
13 



192 



BHITISR PROVINCES. 



discovered and named Boothia. Varry explored the northern coast« 
of Hudson's Bay, and discovered Fury and Hecia Straits. Dr. 
Richardson, and Captains Franklin and Beechy, also made extensive 
discoveries along the shores of the Polar Sea. 

These expeditions led to another, terminating in some impoitanl 
results. Ross had sailed in 1829, and for four winters nothing was 
heard of him — a circumstar)ce which excited the deepest anxiety. 
Accordingly, an expedition was iBtted out to go in search of him, 
and Captain Back, an able officer who had served under Franklin 
and Richardson, volunteered to conduct it. He sailed from Liver- 
pool, February 17, 1888, and, after visiting New York, ascended 
the Hudson to Alban}'^. In April, he reached Montreal. After nun;e- 
rous difficulties in raising provisions and men, he sailed up the 
Ottawa, to a small stream leading into Nipissing Lake, and thence 
by the Riviere des Fran^ais, he entered Lake Huron. Then, cross- 
ing Lake Superior, Rainy, and Lake of the Woods, they reached 
Fort Alexander at the southern extremity of Lake Winnepet;. 
From the settlers in this vicinity he received the most marked 
attention, and was furnished by Governor Simpson with every con- 
venience. The party then commenced their dreary journey toward 
the north, sometimes sailing along rivers, then carrying their canoes 
across almost impassable surfaces, and even fording torrents and cas- 
cades. The thermometer was sometimes 90.° below zero ; and a 
huge fire in a small apartment could not raise the temperature highei 
than 12° above zero. Ink and paint froze, and boxes of the best 
seasoned wood split. The skin of the hands cracked and opened in 
gashes. When the face was washed near the fire, before it could be 
dried the hair was clotted with ice. All living beings disappeared ; 
no sound but that of the passing wind broke the awful stillness 
Captain Back penetrated far to the north and passed the winter , 
but he found it almost impossible to prosecute further discoveries. 
In the following year, he was compelled to retrace his steps, and on 
the 8th of September arrived at Liverpool. This expedition was 
followed by others of a similar character. The Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany now manages the affairs of the territory. There are four prin- 
cipal stations, between which the country is divided ; York Fort, 
Moose Fort, Montreal, and Fort Vancouver. Smaller stations are 
scattered throughout the territory, some of which afford protectior 
and support to pious missionaries, who are engaged in the laudab' 
«vork of instructing the natives in religion and civili/.atiou. 



ASTORIA- 

CHAPTER XI. 

HISTORY OF OREGON. 

HE term Oregon has, until lately, been 
employed to designate the country ex- 
tending from California to the Russian 
possessions, and from the Pacific to 
the Rocky Mountains. It was visited 
as early as 1579 by Sir Francis Drake, 
who, pursuing the track already com- 
menced by the Spanish navigators, 
sailed along the coast as far north as 
48°. It is very probable that even 
previous to this the Spaniards had 
sailed further northward than the ex- 
tremity jf California. In 1598, D'Aguilar, commander of an expe- 
dition under Philip III., of Sj)ain, visited the coast, and discovered 

25 K ,193 




191 



OREGON. 



the mouth of the Columbia ; but his account of the expedition wps 
treated by his countrymen with unmerited neglect. 

For nearly two centuries after that period, the Spaniards made no 
further attempts either at discovery or settlement ; and the distant 
region of Oregon seems to have been considered by all nations as an 
unknown territory. But when maritime enterprise revived in the 
latter part of the eighteenth century, Spain established ten stations 
(1769 — 1779) along the coast of Northern California. In 1774. 
Juan Perez sailed from California as far north as 55°. On his re- 
turn he anchored in San Lorenzo bay, probably Nootka Sound. 
Nearly the same ground was passed over in 1775, by another Spa- 
nish expedition under Don Bruno Heceta. In 1776, Captain Cook, 
of England, examined the western coast from 44° to Behring'a 
Straits. 

On account of the discoveries of Drake and Cook, Great Britain 
claimed all Oregon, and established small posts throughout the terri- 
tory, under the auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company. It was 
further visited by Vancouver, in 1791, who made several important 
explorations. But a new impulse was given to adventure in this 
quarter, by a series of enterprises, conducted by land. Mackenzie 
discovered the Frazer river, (1793,) and explored it to a considerable 
distance. In the early part of the present century, Mr. David 
Thompson, surveyor and astronomer of the British North-west Com- 
pany, crossed the Rocky Mountains into Oregon, and explored a 
branch of the Columbia. In 1807, he established a trading-post 
near British America, and spent there two years ; at the end of 
which time he founded another station on the Flathead. Altogether 
he spent several years in the country, making valuable topographi- 
cal observations upon the lands bordering on the Columbia. 

The American Revolution having secured the Independence of 
the United States, the merchants of that country manifested, with 
mcreased ardor, that spirit of commercial enterprise which had been 
arrested during the arduous struggle. On the 7th of May, 1792, 
Captain Robert Gray, in the ship Columbia, of Boston, entered 
the Columbia river, to which he gave the name of his vessel. His 
is the first definite account given of that stream. During the 
administration of Mr. Jefl^erson, Lewis and Clark were dispatched 
(August, 1805,) on an expedition to explore the region beyond 
the mountains. They reached the latter range, in latitude 44*^ 
i^orth, crossed it, discovered the southern head-waters of the 



KXPLORATION OF THE COUNTRY. 



195 




JACOB ASTO: 



Columbia, floated down its stream for about six hundred miles, then 
struck off in a westerly direction, and, on the 15th of November, 
reached its mouth. Here they built some huts, remained in them 
during the winter, and, in 1806, returned to the United States, ex- 
ploring, in their course, many of the tributaries of the Columbia. 
This, until very recently, was the only occasion in which the Rocky 
Mountains have been crossed by persons acting in a public capacity. 

In 1806, Mr. Frazer, of the North-west Company, established a 
trading post on Frazer's river, in about latitude 54°; and, in 1811, 
Mr. Thompson, agent of the same company, discovered the northern 
head-waters of the Columbia, (52° north,) and erected some huts on 
Its banks. In the same year, John Jacob Astor, of New York, de- 
spatched an expedition, both by sea and land, which met near the 
mouth of the Columbia, and erected on its southern bank a little fon. 
This was named Astoria, and was intended to be the centre of an ex- 
tensive trade between America and China. During the war of 1812, 
it was captured by the British, and the name changed to Fort George; 
but by the treaty of Ghent it was restored to the Americans. Not 
long afterwards, Astoria was abandoned as a goveri ment settlement. 

On the 22d of February, 1819, Spain and the United States esu« 



196 



OREGON. 



blished, by the Florida treaty, the forty-second parallel as iheir mu 
lual lioundary, from the source of the Arkansas down to the Pacific — 
the former power yielding her claim to all territories north of that 
hn«. In 1824-5, the Russians effected an agreement with the 
United States, renouncing all right to any land south of 54° 40'. A 
similar treaty was stipulated with Great Britain ; and thus the tract 
between 42° north and 54° 40', was left to be apportioned between 
the two great leading powers of Europe and America. 

Negotiations for establishing a permanent boundary were almost 
immediately commenced. The Americans had already offered 
(1818) the 49° north latitude, as that boundary, but this was re- 
fused ; and, in 1824, they renewed it. The British government 
claimed to the Columbia. Both efforts were fruitless ; and a third, 
in 1826, was attended with a like result. On the 6th of AugUist, 
1827, the two nations agreed on a resolution of "joint occupancy," 
leaving the territory free to the hunters and companies of each, to 
carry on trade and build posts. From that time until 1845, the 
whole region was under the ahnost entire control of the Hudson's 
Bay Company, whose members established numerous posts along 
its northern and western limits. But during the great presidential 
canvass for 1844, the subject of a definite boundary to Oregon be- 
came a great measure, an item of politics; and when President 
Polk assumed the executive chair, ]'i.Hic interest, both in the United 
States and England, became painfully awakened tc the claims of 
the two rivals. The President soon showed a disposition to have 
the subject brought to an immediate issue. In the message of De- 
cember, 1845, he recommended the termination of joint occupancy, 
and claimed the whole of Oregon, up to 54° 40'. The British were 
firm in maintaining their claim, and made active preparations for 
war. This resource now seemed inevitable, and the question of its 
occurrence rested wholly with the Senate. That august body acted 
in a manner worthy the highest representatives of a Christian nation. 
On the 16th of April, 1846, the Senate passed a resolution authoriz- 
ing the President to notify Great Britain, at his discretion, of the 
abrogation of the terms of convention which had passed the resolu- 
tion of joint occupancy. Meanwhile, negotiations were actively 
carried on with a view of concluding a treaty. In June, the English 
tmbassador proposed the boundary line of 49°, and the free naviga- 
ton of the Columbia to that point, as the basis of an agreement; 
and the Senate authorized .be P-esident to accepi it. This was 



SETTLEMENT OF THE BOUNDARY. 197 

done, and on the 16lh the new treaty was transmitted by the Exetu 
live, and passed on the 1 8th. By this instrument, the boundary ia 
the 49° of north latitude, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, 
and thence through Queen Charlotte's Sound and the Straits of 
Fuca to the Pacific — thus giving England the whole of Vancouver's 
island. The Hudson's Bay Company, during the continuance of 
their charter, are authorized to navigate the Columbia to the 49°. 




dC^Ntt Nitaii LAKE WliMhSFitO 



CHAPTER XII. 




GREENLAND. 

REENLAIS'D is a large country stretching from 
latitude 59° 49' north, northward to "an un- 
known distance. It appears to be separated 
from the continent by Baffin's Bay. The 
population is estimated at six tlu)i.sand, of 
whom only a hundred and fifty are Euro- 
peans. The northern regions are locked in 
perpetual ice, and support no living creature. 
This country was visited as early as 982, by Eric Rauda, a Nor 
wegian, whose adventures are narrated in the first chapter of the 
present work. He estabfished a settlement at BrattaHd. near an 
inlet, which he denominated Eric's Sound. His companions founded 
Heriulfsness, Rafn, and other places — nanjes w^hich are still ex- 
tant in Greenland. Eric remained three years in his colony, and, 
on returnmg to Iceland, published a pompous and false account of 
the new-found region, naming it Greenland. Many adventurers 
tp'ere induced to settle, and in the eleventh century Christianity was 
Produced by two British missionaries. In 1121, the colony had 

198 



SETTLEMEXTS IN GREENLAND. 



199 



flourished to such an extent that a hundred and twenty hamlets 
were stretched along the eastern coast, and one hundred and ten on 
the western — covering aitocrether a region of about five hundred 
miles. 

But though this colony commenced under such favourable aus- 
pices, it was destined to a mournful fate. Long before the time of 
Columbus, all traces of European civilization had disappeared from 
Greenland ; and the settlement itself seems to have been almost en- 
tirely forgotten. The cause of this disaster is unknown ; but for 
some time after it became knowm, the Danes attempted to reach 
Greenland and ascertain the fate of the sufferers. After the re-dis- 
covery and settlement of America, the subject was again agitated in 
Northern Europe. In 1708, a Danish clergyman, named Hans 
Egede, determined to visit Greenland, in order, if possible, to discover 
some traces of the lost coL ny, and especially to attempt the conver- 
sion of the natives. After ten years' labour and opposition, he was 
intrusted by the King of Denmark with a vessel, which he named 
the Hope. He sailed xMay 2, 1721, carrying with him two hundred 
and forty settlers, besides hiS wife and four children. They landed 
in Ball's river, and began immediate preparations for a permanent 
settlement. They soon gained the esteem of the natives, and began 
to instruct them in Christianity. They were liberally encouraged 
by the king, who sent not only provisions and other necessaries, but 
also artificers and soldiers tu build a garrison and fort. On the 
death of King Frederick, government grew negligent of the distant 
setlienient, and finally ordered its return. Egede, with ten others, 
remained, and two years alter, the new monarch, having relaxed 
his opposition, sent out fresh provisions and three Moravian mi:^- 
sionaries. These settled New Hernhutt, on Ball's river, and with 
Egede commenced, with renewed vigour, the instruction of the 
natives. Their labours w^ere attended with success; and in 1747, 
they erected the first church ever built in Greenland. From this 
time, their own number, as well as that of their converts, steadily 
increased, and the colony finally assumed comnjercial importance, 
in ife37, West Greenland contained thirteen colonies, fii'ieen com- 
mercial establishments, and ten missionary stations. The principal of 
the latter are Lichenfels, Lichtenau, and New Hernhutt. Upper- 
navic, latitude 12° 30', is the most northern station. The prmcipal 
exports are whale oil, eider down, and the skins of reindeer, seal 
and bear. 



CHAPTER XIIL 




RUSSIAN AMERICA. 

HE extensive region known as Russian America, 
IS a country of ice, rocks, islands, barrens, and 
forests. It includes the Peninsula of Alaska and 
the Aleutian Islands. Its condition in 1837 is 
thus described by an officer of the Hudson's Bay 
Company: — "The Russian Fur Compan3r's principal esta- 
blishment on the north-west coast is named New Archangel, 
formerly Sitka, and situated in Norfolk Sound, in north lati- 
tude 57°, west longitude 132° 20'. It is maintained as a 
regular military establishment, garrisoned by about three hundred 
officers and men. with good natural defences, mounting sixteen short 
eighteens, and twelve long nine-ponnders, and is the head-quarters 
of the governor of the Russian army. The Russians have other 
establishments on the coast and islands to the north of New Arch- 
angel, and one fort, Ross, in the Bay of Brogeda — in all, ten esta- 
blishments on the north-west coast of America. They have more- 
over twelve vessels, from a hundred up to four hundred tons 
burden, armed with ten guns each, of different calibre. All the 
officers, and most of the people employed in their sea and land 
service, belong to the Russian army and navy, receive pay from the 
Russian government, and their services, while attached to the R'jLs- 



DISCOVERIES OF BEHRING. 



201 




SU BTI BKANE AU HUT IN N O R T H ■B R N RBOIONa 



sifin Fur Company, entitle thenn to the advantages of promotion 
pension, etc., in like manner as if employed in active service in the 
army and navy. They have, moreover, attached to these settle- 
ments a number of Indians of the Kodiac tribe, who are usually 
employed in hunting and fishing, but are under no fixed engage 
ment, being considered as slaves. Their annual returns in furs are 
m value from £80,000 to £100,000." 

This country was discovered and settled almost entirely by the 
Russians. As early as 1648, an expedition of seven vessels, under 
the Cossack Semoen Deshniew, sailed from Kolyma, and after four 
being wrecked, the remainder pushed forward as far as Behring's 
Strait, and through to the mouth of the Anadir. In 1710, three 
Rien, who had been sent by the Russians to exhort the Tchuktzki 
Indians to submission, received information of the Great Country, 
(America,) and also of the Aleutian islanders, who, among other 
peculiarities, built their houses under ground, extending them on all 
sides, so that numerous families could live in one. These subterra- 
neous mansions were lighted by lamps, and divided into as many 
apartments as they contained families — all disgustingly filthy and 
desolate. 

The ardent ambition of Peter the Great induced him to second all 
these efforts. Only a few days before his death, he authorized thd 

26 



202 



RUSSIAN AMERICA. 




PETBB THE GREAT. 



fitting out of an expedition, whose object was 
to ascertain if Asia was separated from Anne- 
rica by a strait. It consisted of two vessels, 
under the command of Vitus Behring, a 
Dane. The soldiers were led by Alexoi 
Tshirikof, a Russian officer. Part of the 
expedition was conducted by land, and part 
by water. On the 18th of July, 1741, Beh- 
ring discovered the continent of America, in 
latitude 58° 28'. The appearance of the 
land was grand, but gloomy. Mounlains of great elevation, covered 
with snow, extended far inland. One summit, rising to a towering 
height above the rest, was named Mount St. Elias. The nearest 
headlands were denominated Cape St. Elias and Cape Hermogenes. 
Alaska and the Aleutian islands were also visited, and among the 
latter the crew were obliged to winter. Before spring, the scurvy 
appeared and made such ravages that Behring and many of his 
men died. In August, 1742, the survivors succeeded in reaching 
Kamtschatka. This voyage established the fact of the close proxi- 
mity of the two continents, and opened to the Russian government 
the road to a lucrative trade. Behring's Strait was named after its 
unfortunate and lamented discoverer. 

A few years previous to this expedition, the Russians had reached 
Japan by way of Kamtschatka, and this formed an additional incen- 
tive to adventure. But although the Aleutian islands had been 
visited by Behring, the government appears not to have been fully 
aware of their discovery until 1750, when the first tribute of furs 
was brought from them to Okotsk. Since that time, they have been 
regularly visited ; and on them, together with a coast of three hun- 
dred leagues beyond the polar circle, the indefatigable Russians 
have established those settlements and factories which support the 
great and advantageous fur trade carried on with China by the Rus* 
lian Eiiipire. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA, 




|OTWITHSTANDING the early discovery of the 
American continent by Sebastian Cabot, and the 
various explorations of the northern coast by 
several of his countrymen, no considerable effort 
for establishing a permanent settlement was made until the 
reign of Queen Elizabeth. These, however, were not 
owing to the personal patronage of the queen herself, but 
rather to the enterprise and perseverance of private indi- 
viduals. One of the most distinguished of these was Sir 
Walter Raleigh, although, previous to his endeavours, efforts had 
beef, made by Sir Humphrey Gilbert and others, not only to colonize 

203 



204 



SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 



but also to open a passage to the rich trade of India and China, by 
sailing around the continent through Hudson's Strait. 

In 1584, Raleigh obtained a patent from the crown, conferring cn 
him and his heirs for ever the possession and enjoyment of all lands 
to be discovered, with their revenue, after deducting one-fifth of the 
gold and silver for the crown, and power to seize all vessels trading 
to the coast without his license, unless driven there by stormy wea- 
ther. Clothed with these ample powers, Raleigh immediately sent 
two ships under Amidas and Barlow, with directions to explore the 
coast south of that which had proved fatal to Gilbert. In April,. 
1584, thesf two ccmmanders set sail, and after touching at the Cana- 
ries and among the West Indies, came in sight of the Carohnas, 
July 4th. After sailing along the coast for a distance of a hundred 
and twenty miles, during which the senses were feasted by far 
stretching hills, clothed in the most luxurious verdure, and enlivened 
by rills and streams of crystal clearness, they entered Ocracock 
inlet, and landed upon what they supposed was the main land. It 
proved to be the island, now called Wocoken, opening into Pamlico 
Sound. On the third day after landing, they observed an Indian 
walking on the beach, whom they invited on bgard and gave him 
some food and wine. He then departed well satisfied. Other na- 
tives appeared, and finally Granganimeo, the king's brother, escorte I 
by fifty principal persons. Some trading took place, highly advan- 
tageous to the Enghsh ; after which they again set sail. The ad- 
joining coasts and sounds w^ere then explored, when the navigators 
returned home, carrying with them two natives, Manteo and Wan 
chese. They gave a most flattering report of the country, declaring 
its soil to be the most plentiful, sweet, fruitful, and wholesome of 
all the world;" and the people "the most gentle, loving, and faith- 
ful, void of all guile and treason, and such as lived after the mannei 
of the golden age." 

The desire to possess so delightful a region aroused a spirit ol 
udventure hitherto unknown in England. Determined to establish 
a colony, Raleigh immediately fitted out seven small vessels, manned 
with a hundred and eight men, under Sir Richard Grenville. The 
fillet sailed in April, 1585, and, after a circuitous voyage, by way of 
the Canaries and West Indies, reached the coast of Carolina, in the 
latter end of June. They found the country as had been described 
-to them, and after landing, penetrated some distance into the inte- 
rior. The Indians, gratified by former presents, received them with 



^ane explores the roaxoke. 



205 




GHS-NVTLLS BURNINa A.N INDIAN VILLAQH. 

delight ; but their kindness met with an ill reward. Missing a silver 
cup, the English, in revenge, set fire to a village and devastated the 
adjoining fields. They then chose a spot near the shore as a place 
for settling. 

The great object of these adventurers appears to have been the 
discovery of gold. Dreams of lands whose forests dripped with 
precious aroniatics, whcse rivers washed down sands of gold, or 
sparkhng gems — of an El Dorado, whose gorgeous magnificence 
and mines of inexhaustible wealth realized the wildest romances of 
Marco PAo or Ariosto — formed the main-spring of exertion. No one 
imagined that the first duty of a fresh colony is an immediate tillage 
of the soil. 

In August, Grenville sailed for England, leaving the management 
of the settlement with Ralph Lane. This officer had received from a 
distinguished native chief, named Menatonon, whom he held in cus- 
tody, accounts of a region in the interior, prolific in pearls, and in a 
metal paler and softer than copper, which the inhabitants used foi 
making ornamental plates. Without further delay. Lane selected a 
band and commenced the ascent of the Roanoke. Delighted with the 
majestic appearance of the river and the surrounding woods, and 
aiiured by the promises of provisions, the party continued ad vane- 

s 



SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 



ing- with culpable carelessness, until their supply of food was ex- 
hausted. The governor then warned them to return, but having 
two dogs with them, they determined to make provisions of them, 
rather than, by abandoning the expedition, to lose the glorious fortune 
in prospect. On a sudden, they discovered lights moving through 
the woods, and soon a voice called to their Indian guide, Manteo, to 
be on guard. This was followed by a shower of arrows. The 
English landed and pursued the enemy without success ; and wea- 
ried, chagrined, and famished, they steered their course homeward. 
Broth made of dug's flesh and sassafras leaves servf.'d them as food, 
until they reached the settlement. 

Lane found the settlement in a state of alarm bordering on mu- 
tiny — the Indians having threatened its utter extinction. For 
awhile, his presence restored order; but soon after, the consternation 
was renewed, on ascertaining that the Indian tribes had entered into 
a conspiracy to staive their new visitors, by laying waste their corn- 
fields, destroying the fishing-stations, and retiring from the neigh- 
bourhood. They also resolved on a general night attack, and the 
colonists were probably saved from ruin only by the faithfulness of 
the injured Menai^non, who disclosed the whole plot. Soon after, 
a battle was fought, in which the Indians were defeated ; and their 
principal chief Pemisapan, being enticed to an interview, was, with 
some followers, treacherously shot. These cruel and unwise pro- 
ceedings compleiely alienated the affections of the Indians, and de- 
stroyed all hope of deriving assistance from them. 

The colonists now began to waken to a reality of their situation. 
No prospect appeared of realizing their golden dreams, while abso- 
lute want stared them in the face ; the supplies promised at Easter 
had not arrived m June ; and they were in momentary dread of 
perishing either by famine or the arrows of the savages. 

Amid these dispositions, a fleet of twenty-three vessels was seen in 
the offing; and after some alarm lest it should prove a hostile squad- 
ron, the joyful announcement was made, of its being that of Sir 
Francis Drake, returning from his victorious expedition against the 
Spanish main. That gallant officer readily agreed to give them a 
Ftore of provisions, a sloop of seventy tons, and other small craft, 
with which they might either explore the coasts or return to Eng- 
land ; the latter, it is probable, being the real object. A violent 
storm, however, destroyed these vessels, thus defeating the arrange 
ment ; and Lane, upon the earnest entreaty of the settlers, con 



ABANDONMENT OF THE SETTLEMENT. 



207 




lented himself with obtaining a place on board the fleet, by whic 
he and his adventurers might be conveyed home. 

The conclusion that Raleigh had deserted them was quite un 
founded. A few days after this hasty departure, there arrived a 
brig of a hundred tons, provided with every thing needful for their 
wants ; but, to the utter amazement of the crew, there w^ere no colo- 
nists to supply. After sailing about some time, and satisfying them- 
selves of the fact, they too returned to Europe. This was another 
hasty step ; for a fortnight had not elapsed, when Sir Richard Gren- 
ville appeared, bringing three well-appointed ships, laden with every 
means of supporting and enlarging the colony. His dismay may be 
conceived, when neither the vessel previously despatched, nor one 
Englishman, could be found within those savage precincts. He, 
therefore, left merely fifteen men to erect a fort and keep a 
certain hoid of the country until further reinforcements could be sent 
out. 

All this complication of failure, blunder, and disaster did not dis- 
5*)urage Raleigh. In April of the following yeai he fitted out a 
U 



208 



SETTLEMENT OF VIEGINIA. 



new expedition of three ships and a hundred and fifty person i, led 
by John White, who was appointed governor, with twelve assistants, 
who also, perhaps, contributed to the expense. Attempts were ,nade 
to establish it on a somewhat more solid footing. Implements oi 
agriculture were provided ; several familes went out, and the party, 
including seventeen females and nine boys, arrived in July, and pro 
ceeded to the former settlement. Here a dreadful scene met then 
eyes ; the fort was rased to the ground ; the houses, though still 
standing, were open and tenantless ; the floors overgrown with 
shrubs and weeds, on which deer were feeding. The bones of one 
man lay scattered on the ground ; while of the rest not a trace re- 
mained. After anxious inquiry, it was found that a band of Indians 
had surprised and burned the fort, when the English, rushing out to 
save themselves, were either killed or chased into the woods, where 
they soon perished. 

HITE began by soliciting from the Indian 
?J'p' chiefs a renewal of their former alliance, 
promising the most friendly treatment, and 
that every thing which had passed should be 
forgiven. They announced that an answer 
would be returned in seven days; and when 
the time elapsed without its being fulfilled, 
he determined on a hostile expedition. Led by Manteo, he attacked 
a party, and drove them into the forest; but was disnjayed to find 
that by mistake he had fallen upon one of the few friendly tribes. 
He then relinquished farther proceedings; but all hope of concilia- 
tory arrangements was lost. 

As winter approached, and the vessel was about to return to Europe, 
the colonists began seriously to view their situation. They could 
look for nothing from the Indians but the most deadly hostility, while 
the raising of supplies for themselves was a work of time and un- 
certainty. They therefore joined in an earnest entreaty to White, 
that he would accompany the ship, and exert himself in bringing to 
them further aid and support. He strongly objected, on the ground 
that it would have an appearance as if he were deserting his own 
colony; but they insisted, and having delivered a written testimony, 
signed and sealed, stating that the proposal came from themselves, 
be consented. There had been born to him, during his residence, a 
grand-daughter, Virginia Dare, who is supposed by Mr. Bancroft to be 
the first offspring of English parents on the soil of the United States 




COLONY EXTIRPATED. 



201) 




REPARATIONS for resisting the famous 
Spanish Armada interrupted Raleigh's 
efforts at colonization. Meanwhile, 
White's two vessels, which had been 
furnished him by Sir Walter, were, 
through his own imprudence, much 
injured and obliged to return to Eng- 
land ; while Grenville was retained 
.0 in the fleet destined to resist the Spa- 
niards. The colony was left to lan- 
guish until the defeat of the Armada. Even Raleigh seems to have 
oeen somewhat discouraged ; and after spending forty thousand 
pounds in thankless exertions, he turned his attention to other ob- 
jects. His privileges were however transferred to a company who 
undertook to support the settlement. In consequence of unavoid 
able delay, White was unable to sail until May, 1590. He reached 
Roanoke about the middle of August. 

Again the colony was in a state of utter desolation ; though there 
appeared reason to hope that it had removed to a more favourable 
site, formerly projected. This was the island of Croatoan, fifty miles 
distant, in which Manteo resided, and where they had met a most 
friendly reception. In case of removal it had been stipulated that the 
letters c r o should be carved on the bark of a tree, which were found, 
and elsewhere the full name Croatoan. A cross was to have indicated 
a disastrous removal : and the sign of evil was absent. Chests with 
various stores had been buried in the earth; some were entire; 
others had been discovered and rifled by the Indians. On the whole. 
White concluded that all was well, and began to steer for the new 
station ; but meeting with some difficulties, and the season being ad- 
vanced, it was very coolly resolved to make for the West Indies, 
trade there, and touch at the colony on his return home. After 
coming out into the open ocean, the wind was so adverse to his pro 
posed course, and so favourable to that for Britain, that the latter 
was adopted, and he arrived at home in October. 

After this, the colony seems to have been totally neglected by 
every one except Raleigh. This remarkable man sent out, at dif- 
ferent periods, five vessels, the last in 1602; but, unfortunately, 
none reached the settlement. From that time, nothing was ever 
discovered of this unfortunate colony. Its members were either 
rxtirpated, or became anjalgamated with the neighbouring Indians 



210 



SETTLEMENT OF VIKGINIA. 




OOSNOLD S ■^OY&.OB. 



Notwithstanding this scries of disasters, a vessel sailed for Ame« 
r ca, in 1602, under Bartholomew Gosnold, with thirty-two men, 
twelve of whom intended to settle. Striking directly across the 
ocean, he came upon the coast of Massachusetts; and, after sailing 
onward some time, reached a bold promontory, which, from the great 
quantity of fish caught in the vicinity, he named Cape Cod. Steer- 
ing in a southern course, they passed some dangerous promontories 
and at length landed on a pleasant island, to which they gave the 
name of Martha's Vineyard. Re-embarking, they entered Buz- 
zard's Bay, which, from its spaciousness, was denominated Gosnold's 
Hope. Elizabeth Island, within its circuit, was chosen as a desi- 
rable place of settlement. The soil was clothed with noble trees, 
and with sassafras, which, among other valuable plants, was then 
esteemed a medicine of sovereign virtue. Some pulse being sown, 
grew, in a fortnight, to half a foot. They debarked, on the main- 
land, which appeared "the goodliest they ever saw, replenished with 
fair fields." Having erected a fort, and collected a cargo, chiefly of 
sassafras, they prepared to return, but, at this crisis the settlers 
were dismayed with the prospect of being left on so remote a shore, 
with but a small quantity of provisions, and the fate of similar expe- 
ditions still fresh to the memory. They, therefore, abandoned the 
idea of remaining, and went on board with the rest. 



VARIOUS VISITORb. 



211 




LTHOUGH not successful in its immedinte object, 
this expedition awoke England to the advantages 
to be derived from colonizing her American posses- 
^ sions. Hakluyt, the great promoter of discovery, 
prevailed upon some merchants of Bristol m 
^ equip two small vessels, to which Raleigh gave a 



cheerful consent. They were placed under Martin Pring, 
who, after visiting the New England coast, gathering sassa- 
fras, and bartering with the natives, confirmed, on his return, the 
favourable account of the country which had been given by his pre- 
decessor. This expedition was followed by another under George 
Weymouth, patronized by Lord Arundel and the Earl of Southamp- 
ton. He sailed March 31, 1G05, and reached the American coast 
May 13th, in latitude 41°. After sailing a considerable distance, he 
entered Penobscot Bay in his pinnace, and, soon after, came in sight 
of a river which the crew regarded as the largest they had ever 
seen. It was navigable for very large vessels, free from rocks or 
shoals, and bordered along its sides by thick pine woods. In the 
distance, hills and mountains relieved the prospect. The Enghsh 
immediately commenced bartering with the Indians, and obtained 
valuable furs at a cheap rate. They then embarked and sailed for 
England, carrying with them five of the natives who had been 
decoyed on board. 

This series of voyages conveyed to Britain a much higher idea 
than had yet been entertained of her transatlantic dominion. It was 
found to include a range of territory stretching over eleven degrees 
of latitude, all in the temperate climates, diversified with noble riven 
and harbours, and, wherever visited, displaying a luxuriant fertility 
This prospect rekindled all the enthusiasm of enterprise and hopes 
of wealth. An association was formed by Sir Thomas Gates, Sir 
George Summers, Wingfield, Popham, with other men of rank and 
eminent merchants, for the purpose of colonizing this vast region 
James I., who was fond of such undertakings, and had employed 
them successfully for the improvement of some ruder parts of Scot- 
land and Ireland, was ready to give every encouragement. The 
adventurers were divided into two companies ; the one from London 
for the southern, the other from Bristol and the west for the northern 
parts of Virginia. The former were allowed to choose any spot 
between the thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees of latitude; the 
iatter between the thirty-eighth and forty-fifth. Three degrees wt;*-! 



212 



SETTLEMENT 01 V'lKGINIA. 



thus common between both ; but collision was prevented b}- enacting 
that wherever one had fixed its seat, the other should choose theirs 
at least a hundred miles distant. From that first station, each com- 
pany was to possess fifty miles of coast cn each side ; their territory 
was thence to stretch the same distance inland, and the same out to 
sea, including all islands within the range. These terms deserve 
notice, as they seem to have been much misapprehended by Chal- 
mers, Bancroft, and, indeed, most other writers. The coast was not 
divided between the companies, nor had either an exclusive right 
to their own portions beyond the space of a hundred miles square 
which they were allowed to choose. This may serve to acquit suc- 
cessive princes of the repeated infractions of the charter with which 
they have been charged. Within this range the associations ob- 
tained full property in all tne lands, natural resources and objects of 
every kind, with only the usual exception of a fifth of the gold and a 
fifteenth of the copper The revenue produced by fines and light 
import-duties was to bo enjoyed by them for twenty-one years, after 
which it was to be paid into the royal treasury. They were not, 
however, invested with those kingly attributes which had been la- 
vished on Gilbert and Raleigh. James lodged the government in 
.wo councils, one resident in England, the other in the colony, and 
claimed the right of appointing both ; but, having exercised it in 
regard to the first, he allowed them to nominate the Virginian mem- 
bers. He busied himself, moreover, in preparing a code of "order? 
and instructions," a proceeding, as Mr. Chalmers observes, decidedly 
unconstitutional, but controverted by no one. The colonists and 
their posterity were declared English subjects, yet were invested 
with no political rights, not even trial by jury, unless in capital 
charges ; minor ofl^ences were punished arbitrarily by the council. 
The English church was exclusively established. Strict and laud- 
able injunctions were given for the mild and equitable treatment of 
the natives. 

On the 19th of December, 1606, this famous expedition sailed 
ifom London, in three small vessels, and numbering a hundred and 
five persons. Among these were George Percy, Gosnold, and 
Gapiam John Smith. The whole was commanded by Captain New- 
port. 

Unfortunately, the fair prospects of this expedition were in the be 
ginning clouded, through the caprice of the king. The names and 
instructions of the council had been enclosed in a box, which wa* 



SETTLEMENT OF JAMESTOWN. 




CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH. 



not to he opened until the expedition had arrived at its destination. 
Consequently, no one could claim immediate command. The energy 
of Smith, with his open, manly bearing, led to his promotion aa 
leader. He thus became an object of jealousy to those higher in 
rank, who, on the pretence that he designed setting aside the coun- 
cil and assuming royalty, caused him to be arrested and c nfmed 
until some time after the voyage. 

In April, 1607, the colonists came in sight of America; but, in 
the endeavour to effect a landing, they encountered a violent storm, 
which drove them to the opening of Chesapeake Bay. The magnificent 
prospect of this noble body of water, so completely ravished them, 
as to cause immediate forgetfulness of all their misfortunes. After 
ascending it some distance, they entered a large river, which they 
named after the king, and spent seventeen days in exploring it. A 
spot, fifty miles from its mouth, was chosen as a place of settlement, 
and called Jamestown. On landing, some Indians were seen, who 
at first showed symptoms of hostility ; but, soon becoming friendly, 
they brought food and other necessaries to their new visitors. 

On opening the box of instructions. Smith's name was found 
among the council; but the jealousy of his rivals excluded him for 
some time trom his privileges. He, however, accompanied an expo* 



214 



SETTLEMENT Of VIRGIXIA. 



dition up the river, led by Newport, who visited Powhatan, king of 
the neighbouring tribes. They were received kindly, but, on re- 
turning to Jamestown, they found it in imminent danger of a con- 
tinued attack by several neighbouring tribes. A battle actually 
ensued in which one (a boyj was killed, and seventeen wounded. 
The ccknists then comnjenced the erection of a palisade fort, which 
was finished m June. Scarcely was this accomplished, when Smith 
was brought to trial on alleged charo;es of treason, but after trial was 
honourably acquitted — Wingfield, his accuser, being condemned tc 
pay hira a fine of £200, which Smith generously threw into the 
coninion slock. Mr. Hunt, the clergyman, succeeded in producing 
at least an appearance of harmony, cemented by partaking together 
the Christian cciuiiiunion. 

On the 15th of June, Newport sailed for England, leaving the 
colonists in a state liitJe better than anarchy. The soil was indeed 
fruitful ; but, by an unhappy arrangement, all the produce for the 
first five years was to be in common, and distributed by the council 
according to their respective wants. This system, by preventing all 
hope of personal advanceinent, other than that dependent upon the 
advancement of the community, paralyzed all exertions. Raising 
scarcely any crop the first year, they were dependent on the sup- 
plies Irom home, which were not only precarious, but of inferior 
quality. A slender alluwance of this unwholesome food, bad river 
water, and exposure to a new chmate, soon spread disease so widely 
that often ten men couJd not be found fit for service. Before autumn, 
fifty of their number, including Gosnold, the projector of the set- 
tJenient, had died. Loud murmurings were heard on every side. 
Wingfield, the president, was accused of living in plenty, and eveo 
of meditating a departure while others were starving. He was con- 
sequently deposed and his place supplied by Ratcliffe, who, being of 
an easy temper, left the whole management to Smith, which was 
what the colonists desired. 

This celebrated man soon gave ample proof that his adunnistra 
tion was to be the dawn of better things to the colonists. On an 
expedition down the river, he procured a quantity of food, and being 
attacked by the savages, repelled them m such a manner as to inspire 
them with respect. They sought an alhance with hiUi, and fur- 
nished a boat-load of provisions. 

Smith returned just in time to prevent Wingfield and another 
from seizing a vessel and sailing tu England. His supplies, with 



ADYENTURES OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 



215 




i'OWHATAN, 



flocks ol water-fowl which came at the approach of winter, reJie\ ^4 
their wants ; and having in his rambles discovered the great river 
Chickahominy, he determined to explore it to its source, not, it is said, 
without a hope of thereby reaching the South Sea, viewed then as 
the grand source of wealth. He was impelled, it was imagined, by 
the taunts of some of his enemies in the colony, but we rather think 
only by his own adventurous spirit. He ascended first in his barge, 
then in a canoe, and twenty miles on foot, attended only by his Indian 
guides. But three hundred natives, who had traced his steps, sur- 
prised and dispersed his party, and then came suddenly upon nm)- 
self. He made astonishing efforts for safety, and fastening with his 
garters a native ally to his person, presented him to the enemy as a 
buckler; then he ran to the canoe, which he would have reached 
had he not suddenly sunk in a deep morass, where he was over- 
taken, and, to escape from perishing with cold, obliged to surrender. 

He had now reason to consider his last hour approaching, and a 
circle had, in fact, been formed to shoot him. With characteristic 
presence of mind he asked for the chief, showed his compass-dial, 
pointed out its singular movements, and endeavoured to explain the 
•rresponding phenomena of the earth and sky. Whether they 
u 'erstood these indications or not, they were awed with astonish- 



SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 



merit as if admitted to contemplate a supernatural object. On a 
sii^naj from their leader, they laid down their bows and arrows, and 
if^d him under strict guard to their capital. He was there exhibited 
to the women and children ; and a wild war-dance was performed 
round him, in fantastic measures and with frightful yells and contor- 
tions. He was then shut up in a long house, and supplied at every 
meal with as much bread and venison as would hav^e dmed twenty 
men ; but, receiving no other sign of kindness, he began to dread 
that they were fattening in order to eat him. Even without such a 
precise purpose, this festive entertainment is known atnong savages 
♦o be no uncommon prelude to torture and death. They isked his 
uid in reducing Jamesiovvn, while he sought an opportunity of 
making his way thithet. In the course of this manoeuvermg, a 
message sent to that place, gave him an opportunity to display the 
powers of writing, which was considered by them as a species of 
magical spell. At length, after being paraded and exhibited in vari- 
ous villages, he was led to Pamunkey, the residence of Powhatan. 
It was here his doom was staled. The chief received him in pomp, 
wrapped in a spacious robe of racoon skins, with all the tails hang- 
ing down. Behind, appeared two long hnes of men and wo- 
men, with faces painted red, heads decked with while down, and 
necks quite encircled by chai.is of beads. A lady of rank presented 
water to wash his hands, another a bunch of feathers to dry them. 
A long deliberation was then held, and the result proved fatal. Two 
large stones were placed before Powhatan, and by the united efforts 
of the attendants Smith was dragged to the spot, his head laid on 
one of then), and the mighty club was raised, a few blows of which 
were to ternjinate his life. In this last extremity, when every hope 
seemed past, a \ery unexpected interposition took place. Pocahon- 
tas, the youthful and favourite daughter of this savage chief, was 
seized with those lender emotions which form the ornament of her 
sex. Advancing to her father, she, in the most earnest terms, sup- 
plicated mercy for the stranger ; and though all her entreaties were 
lost on that savage heart, her zeal only redoubled. She ran to 
Smith, took his head in her arms, laid her own upon it, and declared 
that the first death-blow must fall upon her. The barbarian's breast 
was at length softened, and the life of ihe Englishman was spared. 

Our adventurer, being naturally expected to render some services 
m return for so great a boon, employed himself in making hatchets, 
beads, and other orramenls for the faih'.r and daughter. At the end 



STATE OF THE COLOJ^Y AT SMITH'S RETURN. 



211 




CAPTAIN SMITH SURVBTING CHBSAPEAKS BAY. 

of two days, he was conducted into a large house, where, amid 
nideous and doleful noises, Powhatan rushed in, with two hundred 
attendants, strangely disguised, and their faces blackened. Smith 
again thought his last hour had come, but the chief announced these 
as signs of peace and friendship ; and he was forthwith sent to 
Jamestown, on the sole condition of transmitting thence two cul 
verins and a millstone, a promise faithfully fulfilled. 

Smith found a majority of the colonists preparing to return to 
England. He adopted the most energetic measures to prevent this, 
and, with the aid of some faithful adherents, pointed a gun at their 
vessel, declaring that she must either stop or sink. He also broke 
up a conspiracy, and sent the ringleaders to England. Meanwhile, 
they were not left without support. Pocahontas constantly visited 
them with provisions; and soon Captain Newport arrived with a 
hundred and twenty emigrants and abundant supplies. The captain 
visited Powhatan, and opened with him a trade on liberal terms. 

Unfortunately, the ^.ew emigrants were not of the character pro- 
per for a youthful colony. They had visited America for the pur- 
pose of obtaining gold ; and to cultivate the soil, or follow up plans 
for obtaining provisions, was the last of their expectations or pur- 
poses. Having discovered some yellow glittering earth, they san- 
guinely supposed it to be gold dust, and, abandoning every tJi:ng 
else, began to load their vessels with it. Even the authority of 
Smith was insufficient to wean them from this unhappy mania. 

Unable to awaken the colonists Ironf their golden visions. Smith 
rommenced the exploration of Chesapeake Bay, with a hope of 

28 T 



218 



SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 



Cuminunicating with the Pacific, and thence to India. Many diffi 
culties were experienced from the spvages; and the adventurer* 
were about returning when they unexpectedly discovered the Poto 
mac river, the prospect of which once more revived their hopes. 
They ascended it to the Falls, above the site of Georgetown, entered 
the Rappahannock, and explored it to a considerable distance. 
Smith subsequently explored the Susquehannah until stopped by 
cataracts. 

On his return Captain Smith was elected president, but was soon 
interrupted in the exercise of his duties by the arrival of Newport 
with about seventy emigrants, two of whom were females. This 
led to another futile expedition for the discovery of a passage to the 
South Sea, undertaken in conformity with a desire of the London 
Company, vt'hich having expended more than £2000 on the colony, 
were now anxious for something like reimbursement. A cargo, con- 
sisting principally of timber, with some tar, glass, and ashes, was sent 
lo England, although its value little accorded with expectation. 

Having despatched the vessel, Smith applied himself to the pro- 
curing of food. He also contrived a plan for seizing Powhatan ; 
but this was revealed to the monarch, who made Smith himself 
prisoner. He was a second time saved, only through the interces 
sion of Pocahontas ; but the feelings of the Indians were completely 
estranged irom their white neighbours. 

Meanwhile the exertions of the patentees, and the general enthu 
siasm kindled throughout the nation, enabled the company to equip 
an expedition of nine vessels and five hundred emigrants. Many 
distinguished individuals were ready to embark their fortunes in this 
enterprise; and, with the consent of the old members, the company 
was remodelled on a larger scale and under a new charter. The 
territory was augmented from a hundred miles of coast to four 
hundred. 

Lord Delaware, distinguished by his talents and virtues, was 
named governor for life ; and, as he could not depart immediately? 
Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Summers were to rule in the 
mean time. The vessels set sail on the 15th of May, 1609, and 
seven arrived on the 11th of August, at Jamestown; but unfortu- 
nately they had encountered a violent storm, in which two, having 
on board Gates and Summers, were separated and thrown upon the 
Bermudas. In their absence. Smith justly claimed the rule; but 
uiany of the new comers, being bankrupts, spendthrifts, or others 



OHARACTEK Of THE SETTLERS. 



219 




POCA-HO-STTA-S RBSCUINS CAPTAIN SMITH. 



sent abroad for misconduct at home, were indisposed to obey him. For 
some time, total anarchy reigned ; but its evils at length became so 
great, that he was entreated to resume the government. He everted 
himself to settle the emigrants advantageously, of whom two parties, 
a hundred and twenty each, were settled at Nansemond, and at the 
Falls of James River. Both, however, mismanaged their affairs, 
quarrelled with the Indians, and lost a number of their men; while 
they rejected all his efforts to remedy these disorders. In returnina 
from the latter place, a bag of gunpowder burst and severely man- 
gled his person, so that he reached home in extreme torture. Here 
he was told that plots were forming against his life. Unable, in his 
debilitated state, to struggle against so many difficulcies, he returned 



220 



SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 



to England, quitting for ever the colony which had been so mucfc 
indebted to him. He received at home neither honours nor rewards. 
The company, prepossessed by his numerous enemies, complained 
that he had brought no wealth into their coffers, and had acted severely 
towards the Indians. Posterity has done him justice, perhaps some- 
•vhat beyond his merits. His bold and active spirit, with sound prac- 
tical judgment, eminently qualified him for the station ; though, being 
rather hot and uncompromising in his temper, he excited bitier 
enmities. A conciliatory disposition and persuasive powers were, in 
such a situation, almost indispensable to render his exertions effective. 
His conduct towards the Indians was in general culpable, and, by the 
hostility which it created, neutrah'zed in a great measure his eminent 
services. 

His eulogium, however, was found in the state of the colony after 
his departure. Only about thirty or forty acres were cultivated ; 
the ships had brought grain ,n limited quantity, and much spoiled 
during the unfortunate voyage. The Indians, no longer overawed 
by the late president, not only refused supplies, but killed niany set- 
tlers. Thus there ensued a dreadful famiro, long fearfully remem- 
bered under the name of the " Starving Time." Many were ini 
pelled to the horrid resource of devouring the bodies of the dead ; 
nay, there are dark imputations of murder committed under this 
fearful impulse. Vessels sent along the rivers were either sunk or 
the crews beaten by the savages. Virginia seemed a devoted soil. 
Of the flourishing colony of five hundred persons, there remained 
only sixty "most miserable and poor creatures." After a large ex- 
penditure and successive arrivals of emigrants, it had returned 
almost into its original insignificance. 

In May, Gates and Summers arrived from the Bermudas. Their 
scanty stock afforded a few days' subsistence to the settlers, beyond 
which appeared no prospect but that of famine. In this extremity, 
the colonists determined to sail for Newfoundland, and embarking, 
(June 6,) were steering down the bay, where they met with the 
long-boat of Lord Delaware, who had just arrived with a reinforce- 
ment and large supplies, to take command. This opportune occur- 
rence restored satisfaction, and the wise and paternal character of 
Lord Delaware's administration for a time gave prosperity to the 
settlement. But this excellent nobleman was soon after taken ill, 
and obliged to return to England. He left Percy in command, who 
<*vS succeeded by Sir Thomas Dale. He continued in office until 



MAERIAGE OF POCAHONTAS. 



22J 




CA.PTURE 0? P00AHONTA3. 



the arrival of Sir Thnrnas Gates with six ships, three hundred emi- 
grants, and a hundred cattle. 

AVith some of the new comers. Dale now undertook a voyage up 
the river, and founded a settlement which he named Henrico in 
honour of the Prince of Wales. A romantic and pleasing event 
of this expedition may be considered the termination of the long 
hostility with the native tribes. An enterprising naval officer named 
Arg-all contrived to invcicrle on board his vessel the Princess Poca- 
hontas, and, notwithstanding her tears and entreaties, carried her to 
Jamestown. She was well treated, but the Enoflish refused to re- 
lease her, except for an exotb-t;int ransom. Powhatan, with an 
independence of soul which showed true greatness, refused to listen 
to any terms while his favourite child was a captive. The un- 
fortunate breach seemed hourly widening. At this crisis, Mr. John 
Rolfe, a respectable young man, was smitten with her dignified 
demeanour, and found no difficulty in gaining her affections. Their 
marriage was a source of exultation to the colonists, and made Pow- 
hatan their firm friend ever a-fterward. The youthful bride became 

ts 



222 SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 

a believer in the truths of Christianity, and was baptized under the 
name of Rebecca, to which the English prefixed Lady. She was 
taken to England, introduced to the royal family, and, for some time, 
became the object of universal attention. In 1710, she went to em- 
bark at Gravesend ; but she was never again to behold her native 
shore. Sudden illness carried her off in a few days. She left a 
son in the colony, whose offspring is now numerous, and the descent 
from whom is the boast of many Virginia families. It is worthy of 
note, however, that, notwithstanding the popularity of this marriage, 
and the scarcity of females in the settlement, Rolfe's example was 
never followed. 

Gates and Dale abolished the system of community labour, and 
gave to each family a piece of ground for its own cultivation. This 
revived industry, and every thing began to assume a new aspect. 
They soon discovered tobacco; and, in one year, this apparently 
nauseous weed dia more to enrich the company and the colony, 
itself, than did all the fancied mines of gold and marts of commerce 
during the whole period that Virginia was a colony. 

- N 1616, Sir T. Lale died, and was 

succeeded by Sir George Yeardley 
as deputy. Lord Delaware also 
died, in sailing for Jamestown. 
The government then devolved 
upon Argall, a brave and success- 
ful naval commander, but of a 
temper too haughty and overbear- 
ing. He became so unpopular that 
the company were obliged to super 
sede him, and the regulation of affairs again devolved on Yeardley. 
The oppression of Argall led to the petitioning for a new consti 
tution, which, after long delay, the company granted. This instru 
ment was so framed as to secure the colonists in a great measure 
against any proceeding contrary to their views. The House of 
Assembly was to consist of the governor, a council appointed by the 
corporation at home, and two representatives from each borough 
As this meeting amounted to twenty-one, while the delegates Irorr^ 
eleven boroughs were twenty-two, the company had only to gain one 
of the latter in order to have the full dictation of every measure 
Various other privileges were granted, all securing more or less th< 
fights of the colonists The conseouences were soon apparent 




THE GREAT MASSACRE. 



223 




THE CHRISTIAN INDIAN DISCLOSINfG THE INTENDED ilASSACKB 



Their number continually increased, the area of the settlement was 
extended, and the arrival of a considerable number of females gave 
a stability, an appearance of home to the town, which it had not 
yet enjoyed. 

During this period of prosperity, a storm was brooding over the 
colony in a quarter little suspected. We have seen the beneficial 
effects of Rolfe's marriage, in its reconciliation of the Indians. So 
perfect had this become, that the two races seemed blended into one, 
the Indians entering at pleasure into the houses of the planters, bor- 
rowing their arms and materials, and frequently residing with them 
for some days. But, in reality, a fearful change had taken place,, 
and the red men had determined on the utter extinction of the 
colony. Powhatan was dead ; and his son Opecancanough, undei 
apparent friendship, concealed the most deadly hatred. All the 
causes of this alteration it is impossible to ascertain ; but, no doubt,, 
a par. was owing to the conduct of the settlers, and the fears excited 
by their rapid increase. 

The Indians appointed a day in which a general massacre of the 
whites was to be perpetrated. The secret was kept with the pro- 
fo'ind dissimulation which characterizes savage vengeance : and, 
several days before, Opecancanough had declared that the heaven* 
15 



224 



SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 




THB OHBAT MA8SA0RR. 



would fall before he would alter his afTection for the English. Ti» 
the last moment, his subjects continued visiting, conversing, and 
holding the most friendly intercourse with those whom they were 
about to slay. 

One exception to this general hatred saved the colony. A gentle 
man, nan)ed Pace, had an Indian domestic, whom he had not only 
treated with peculiar kindness, but had converted to the Christian 
religion. Being told, late at night, to murder his master next day, 
he rose from his bed and disclosed the plot. Pace immediately 
arose, procured a boat, and, crossing to Jamestown, revealed the 
conspiracy. The notice was too short, however, to warn all the 
remote settlements, and on these the storm fell in full fury. Min- 
gling as usual with the settlers, they succeeded in completely sur- 
prising them, and, with the implements of husbandry, struck them 
dead before they were conscious of danger. The dreadful work 
continued until three hundred and forty-seven men, women, and 
children were massacred, and all the colony was filled with alarm. 
This event, known as the Great Massacre, occurred April 1, 1622. 
It was followed by a war of extermination against the Indians, which 
resulted in the 'extinction or emigration of nearly all the tribes in the 
vicjnity of Ja lestown. 



JAMLS I. 



226 



In addition to this misfortune, the company were soon called to 
breast another storm more potent than Indian hatred. This was the 
king's opposition. Being one of the vainest and most arbitrary 
sovereigns that ever sat on the English throne, James could not look 
with apathy upon the increasing prosperity of a company whose 
views of government and royal prerogative were far more republi- 
can than his own. The dispute first commenced about the appoint- 
ment of officers — James claiming this right for himself. He then 
attempted to monopolize the tobacco trade. The controversy con- 
tinued until 1624, when the company was dissolved, and Virginii 
made a royal government. 



3 A U 95 L 



CHAPTER XV. 



VIRGINIA TILL THE PEACE OF 1763. 

HE arbitrary schemes of King James were 
interrupted by his death, which occurred 
April 6, 1625. His successor, Charles I., 
entertained similar ideas regarding his capa- 
city for government, but was more fickle in 
disposition. Although he did not interfere 
with the colonial constitution, yet he endea- 
voured to monopolize the tobacco trade, and 
was prevented from doing so only by an earnest remonstrance from 
the governor, council, and burgesses. On the death of Yeardley, 
in 1627, West and Pott were successively elected h\ .i-i ^uncii 

226 





John Harvey was appointed by Charles in 1629, but he became sg 
unpopular as to be sent to England, in 1636, loaded with charges. 
A trial resulted in his triumphant acquittal. He was then "-einstated, 
and after continuing the administration for two years, was • ucceeded 
by Sir Francis Wyatt. After another period of two }ears, the 
government devolved (February, 1642) on Sir WilHam Berkeley. 
His accession gave universal satisfaction ; and, although bigotted 
with regard to religion and education, he seems to have been the 
most popular of any of the Virginian governors. 

Ever since the dreadful massacre of 1622, a vindictive warfare had 
been waged against the Indians, chiefly by predatory incursions into 
their territory; and in the year 1643, the Assembly voted that no 
terms of peace with them should be entertained. That unfortunate 
people, driven to despair, again entered into a general confederacy, 
hoping, by a sudden attack, to cut off the hated race who had seized 
their lands. This step could not now be reproached with treachery, 
nor could suspicion be lulled by professions of friendship ; yet 
through their habits of deep dissimulation, they, in some degree, 
effected a surprise. About three hundred colonists were killed ; but 
as soon as the main body were aroused, the savage assailants were 
completely defeated, pursued into their own country, and Opecanca- 
nough, their king, taken prisoner. Though well treated, he felt 
indignant at the multitudes who were allowed to come into his pri- 
son, and satisfy their curiosity by viewing his person ; assuring 
Berkeley, that, had fortune reversed their situation, he would not 
'lave meanly exhibited his captive as a show. A brutal soldier pu! 



228 



VIRGINIA TILL THE PEACE OF 1763. 




CHARLBS I. 



an end to his life by shooting him in the back ; and the Indians 
were now so far overawed, that the governor, in 1646, could impose 
a treaty, including an extensive cession of territory. 

This unpropitious affair was succeeded by a period of unusual 
tranquillity, during which the colony increased greatly. A writer, 
in 1649, estimates the population at about fifteen thousand, and states 
that there were twenty thousand head of cattle, three thousand sheep, 
five thousand goats, hogs and poultry innumerable, with about two 
hundred horses and mares of an excellent breed. Wheat was raised 
for subsistence in considerable quantities, but tobacco was the staple 
for sale. The plantations reached about a hundred miles along the 
river, having upon it fronts of varying extent, but each stretching 
backward about two thousand yards. 

la the contest between Charles and the Republicans, Virginia 
Look part with the crown ; and on the death of the monarch, boldlv 



bacon's rebellion. 



2*29 



declared for his exiled son. Disputes with the Long Parliamen 
followed, but were int'jrriipted by the dissolution of that body. 
Finally, however, the Virginians obtained a complete amnesty ; and 
the Protector even extended to them several important privileges. 
The republic was, however, always unpopular ; and, afte** the exp il- 
sion of Richard, Cromwell's son, the Virginians gladly returned to 
their old allegiance. 

As the colonists had been among the most strenuous supporters 
of the crown, it was natural to suppose that they would receive 
from it a full recognition of their loyalty, and confirmation of all 
former rights. In this they were disappointed. The Church of 
England was exclusively established, the right of suffrage abridged, 
general education discouraged, commerce Hmiied to the mother coun- 
try, and several odious monopolies established. 

An interna] cause siill more cruelly interrupted the success of the 
colony. The Indians, once so hostile, had for a long time been 
overawed or conciliated; but the Susquehannas, a singularly fierce 
tribe, having been driven from the north by the Five Nations, began 
to commit depredations upon the frontiers. The colonists on the bor- 
der, possessing, doubtless, much of the lawless character of back- 
settlers, violently retaliated. Six chiefs, sent by the Indians to treat 
for peace, were seized and put to death ; and the just indignation ex- 
pressed by Berkeley at this outrage gave great offence. After war 
had raged some time, that people again made pacific overtures, 
but without success. 'I'he governor, however, endeavoured to 
second their object, and to mitigate the ferocious spirit which now 
animated the colonists. These humane efforts were adverse to their 
present disposition, and lost to him that popularity which he had 
10 long enjoyed, while his views and even his errors were in unison 
with theirs. The consequences soon proved disastrous. 

Nathaniel Bacon, of a respectable family in Suffolk, carried 
out the unusual fortune of ^1800, and, possessing an uncommon 
share of address, eloquence, and intelligence, acquired great influ- 
ence and a seat in the council. Having formed a border plantation 
on the upper part of James River, he found the war raging with 
the Indians, who carried it on with their usual cruelties. Ill-informed 
perhaps of the wrongs by which they had been impelled, he sym- 
pathized with the sufferings of his countrymen, and entertained au 
eager desire for revenge. A farm of his own being attacked, and 
the servant killed, he took up arms without the knowledge of 

u 



230 



VIRGINIA TILL THE PEACE OF 1768. 




SIiJNINQ OF bacon's COilUISSION 



Berkeley, and rallying around him all inspired by similar senti- 
ments, was soon at the head of five hundred men. The governor 
announced this armament as rebellious, and issued a mandate to 
disperse, which was partly obeyed. His attention was distracted, 
however, by a rising of the popular party in the lower province, to 
resist the aristocratic ascendant. The two interests became united ; 
and the g-overnment. unable to resist, were obhVed to a^ree that the 
Assembly, having now sat an exorbitant time, should be dissolved, 
and a new one elected. The result was favourable to the popular 
side ; universal suffrage was restored ; all arbitrary taxation was 
abolished ; and various abuses suppressed, though without any vin- 
dictive proceedings against their authors. Bacon had at first been 
made prisoner ; but on so strong a manifestation of the Assembly's 
will, he was set at liberty, and even promised a commission ; but 
this was ultimately refused. He then secretly withdrew, and as- 
sembled five or six hundred men, with whom he became complete 
master of the seat of government. Sir William strenuously re- 
sisted ; and, with the boldness of an old cavalier, bared his breast to 
his adversary, saying, "A fair mark — shoot !" Bacon declared they 
did not wish to hurt a hair of his head, but only desired a commis- 
sion to save their lives from the Indians. The authority was granted 
lo him, and he marched to the frontier. 



BACON'S REBELLION. 



231 



As soon, however, as the immediate pressure was removed, the 
governor, rashly as it would seem, published a proclamation, re 
versing all the proceedings of the Assembly, and again declaring 
Bacon a traitor. This step immediately kindled a civil war. That 
daring chief marched back towards Jamestown, and was joined by 
numerous adherents of the popular class. The property of the roy 
alists was confiscated, their wives seized, and carried along with the 
troops as hostages ; and these violences being retaliated, wide de- 
vastation was spread over the country. Berkeley, meantime, had 
assembled in the capital his friends, with some seamen landed from 
vessels in the harbour. Here, however, they were soon besieged, 
and, being repulsed in a sally, found themselves no match for the 
hardy borderers. It was necessary to evacuate the town during the 
night, and withdraw his entire force to the eastern shore, leaving the 
whole west in possession of the insurgents. 

ACON now acted entirely as ruler of Virginia, and de- 
claring the governor to have abdicated, summoned 
an assembly in his own name. It was determined 
to resist any attempts from the mother-country to 
restore Berkeley to power, and, indeed, the resolu 
tion was almost fixed to throw off its yoke alto 
gether. As Jamestown might affjrd a position for establishing an 
English force, the violent measure was adopted of devoting it to the 
flames. This was executed with such ruthless determination, that 
the fires being kindled in the night, there remained in the morning 
scarcely a vestige of that original capital, which has never again 
reared its head. Nothing now appeared to remain but to cross the 
river and drive before them the discouraged remnant of Berkeley's 
forces. Suddenly, however, the leader sickened, and, after a short 
illness, died ; a catastrophe that put an end to the insurrection, 
which, after all, had not any deep root among the nation. Its tem- 
porary success seems to have been owing to the union of the border 
settlers with the popular faction ; but the latter, forming still a de- 
cided minority, could not permanently support it. Several of the 
leaders attempted to make a stand, but were successively reduced 
and taken by Beverley, an active royahst chief. The governoi, 
whose feelings seem throughout the whole transaction to have been 
greatly excited, acted now with excessive rigour. Twenty persons 
were hanged, and it is supposed a greater number would have en- 
dured the same punishnient, had not the Assembly presented 



232 



VIRGINIA TILL THE PEACE OF 1763. 



address, entreating "that he would spill no more blood." One of 
the deputies said, "had we let him alone, he would have hanged 
half the country.'* Charles II., whose disposition was not cruel, 
exclaimed, "the (jld fool has taken away more lives than I for the 
murder of my father," and issued a proclamation censuring his con- 
duct as derogatory to his clemency. Sir William was recalled, and 
his place temporarily supplied by Colonel JefTereys, who, with two 
others, constituted a commission of inquiry. They seem to have 
made it very searching, with even a friendly disposition towards the 
people. The different counties were invited to produce statements 
of grievances, and the records of the Assembly were forced from 
their clerk. A report was drawn up, in which, while the conduct 
of the insurgents was strongly condemned, that of the governmenl 
and several members of the council was also censured. I'hesft 
reflections against Berkeley are supposed to have hastened his 
dc^h, which took place before he had an interview with the king. 
The Aaotinbly passed a vote, declaring that he had been an excelleni 
governor, and recommended a grant to Lady Berkeley of £300 
Jeffereys, during his short administration, put an end to the Indiar 
war. After the death of Charles I., some royalist noblemen obtain- 
ed a grant of the territory between the Potomac and Rappahannock, 
known as the North Neck, for the purpose of affording a refuge tc 
their adherents. This right was afterwards sold to Lords Culpeppei 
and Arlington. The colonists remonstrated against it, as a violation 
of their charter; but Charles confirmed it by the appointing of Cul 
pepper governor for life. He was avaricious and despotic ; and the 
office finally reverted to the crown. The colony remained in rathei 
an unsettled state until 1092, when its management was conferreu 
on Sir Edmund Andros. He seems to have conducted himself, 
during the six years of his administration, with prudence and abi- 
lity. His successor, Nicholson, having formed a scheme of uniting 
the settlements into a union for mutual defence, which displeased 
the Assembly, was deposed, and the government given to the Earl 
of Orkney, who held it as a sinecure thirty-six years. 

Virginia, from this period till the peace of 1763, enjoyed an almost 
jninterrupled prosperity. She was engaged in military operations 
Hgainst the French and their Indian allies ; but as these were com- 
mon to the whole range of states, we prefer to make them, vvith sonif 
other ma^ercj, iJie subject of u -eneral chapter. 



CSCIL CALVBBT THB 8BC0ND LORD BALTIMOKB 



CHAPTER XYL 



MARYLAND. 




TRGINIA, under the second charter, was ex- 

1^ tended so as to embrace in its area the 
J whole of the present state of Maryland, 
[n the territory around Chesapeake Bay 
a valuable trade was carried on with the 
Indians, principally by William Clayborne, 
a surveyor of the Virginia Company, and 
member of the council. Under direct 
license from the crown, he built a number 
of establishments on the bay, the proceeds of which were highly 
beneficial to the colony. 

This profitable trade was interrupted by the grant of a charter to 
Sir George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, for the land extending 
from the Potomac to the fortieth degree of north latitude, to be called 
Maryland, in honour of the queen. Sir George, having died before 
the grant was fully made out, was succeeded by his son Cecil, who 
\mraediately devoted all his exertions for the good of the future 



30 



d2 



234 



MARYLAND. 



colony. The expenses from his own funds amounted to .£20,000. and 
an equal sum was raised amono- his friends. Warned by Virginian 
disasters, he avoided, from the first, all chimerical projects, and placed 
his establishment entirely on an agricultural basis. Every one who 
carried out five persons, male or female, paying their expenses, 
(about ,£20,) was to receive a thousand acres. Those defraying 
their own charges got a hundred acres for themselves, and the same 
for every adult member of their family ; for children under six years, 
f fty acres. The rent was two shillings for each one hundred acres. 

In November, 1633, Leonard Calvert set sail with the first emi- 
grants, consisting of about two hundred persons, including a son of 
Sir Thomas Gerard, one of Sir Thomas Wiseman, and two of Lady 
Wintour. In February, he touched at Point Comfort, in Virginia, 
where his arrival was by no means acceptable; nevertheless, Sir 
John Harvey, in obedience to the express orders of Charles, gave 
him a courteous reception. Early in March, he entered the Poto- 
mac, to the Indians on the shores of which the sight of so large a 
vessel was quite new, and caused the utmost astonishment. The 
report was, that a canoe was approaching as big as an island, with 
men standing in it as thick as trees in a forest; and they thought 
with amazement how enormous must have been the trunk out of 
which it had been hollowed. A piece of ordnance, resounding for 
the first time on the shores of this mighty river, caused the whole 
country to tremble. The intercourse, however, appears to have 
been judiciously conducted, and was, on the whole, very amicable. 
Calvert sailed up to Piscataqua, an Indian settlement nearly opposite 
the present site of Mount Vernon, where the chief received him 
with kindness, saying, "he would not bid him go, neither would he 
bid him stay ; he might use his own discretion." On reflection, he 
considered the place too far up the river, and, therefore, the vessel 
was moved down to a tributary named then St. Georges, now St. 
Mary's. Ascending it four leagues, he came to a conside^^ble 
Indian town, named Yoacomoco ; and, being hospitably received, as 
well as pleased with the situation, he determined to fix his colony 
there. The werowanne accepted an invitation on board, and Sir 
John Harvey having just arrived from Virginia, the chief was led 
down to the cabin, and seated at dinner between the two governors. 
An alarm having spread among the people on shore, that he was de- 
tained as a prisoner, they made 'the banks echo with shouts of 
alarm ; the Indian attendants durst not go to them, but when he 



SETTLEMENT OF ST. MAKY'S. 



235 




8BTTLEMSNT OF ST. MARy's. 



himself appeared on deck, they were satisfied. He became so much 
attached to the English, as to declare, that if they should kill him, 
he would not wish his death avenged, being sure that he must have 
deserved his fate. 

Amid these dispositions, it was not difficult to negotiate the 
formation of a settlement. For hatchets, hoes, knives, cloth, and 
other articles of probably very small original cost, the strangers 
not only obtained a large tract of land, but were allowed by the 
inhabitants to occupy immediately one half of their village, with 
the corn growing adjacent to it, and, at the end of harvest, were 
to receive the whole. Thus the English were at once comfortably 
established, without those severe hardships which usually attend an 
infant settlement. 

The colony thus commenced enjoyed privileges to which Virginia 
had been a stranger. Her charter secured the great privilege of 
perfect freedom of opinion in reHgious matters, the right of suf- 
frage, the appointment of officers by the crown, and a permanent 
exemption from all royal taxation. 



236 



MARYLAND. 




'N 1635, the Assembly met at St. Mary's 
but the record of their proceedings 
is now lost. Immediately after, Clay- 
borne refused to submit to Calvert's 
government, and at length appeared 
in arms to maintain the right of 
possession in his territory. A skir- 
mish occurred in May, in which 
few on each side were killed, 
and Clayborne's party taken prison- 
ers. Their leader fled to Virginia, and, on being demanded by the 
Maryland Assembly, was sent to England for trial. The Assembly 
seized his lands and declared him a traitor. Clayborne appealed lo 
the crown, but, after a full hearing, the case was decided against 
him, and his estates reverted to Lord Baltimore. 

These difficulties were scarcely suppressed, when others, little 
less formidable, occurred with the Indians. These increased to 
such an alarming extent, that, in 1642, all the neighbouring tribes 
were arrayed against the colony. The disgusting scenes attendant 
on savage warfare continued until 1644, when they were happily 
terminated by a treaty, the conditions of which, and some acts of 
Assembly immediately following, seem to prove that the evil had 
arisen entirely from the interested proceedings of individuals. The 
prohibition of kidnapping the Indians, and of selling arms to them, 
show the existence of these culpable practices. This peace was of 
long duration, and the Maryland government seems, on the whole, 
to have acted more laudably towards the red men than any other, 
except that of Penn. 

In 1645, Clnyborne returned to Maryland, raised a rebellion, and 
drove the governor into Virginia. A period of disorder ensued 
until the summer of 1646, when the government was restored. A 
season of prosperity followed until 1650, when still further security 
was given to political freedom, by dividing the Assembly into two 
houses, composed of the governor and council in one, and the bur 
gesses elected by the people in the other. 

The suppression of royalty in England seems to have acted un« 
favourably to Maryland. The parhament sent a number of com- 
missioners to reduce the territory to obedience; among these was 
Clayborne. Governor Stone was twice removed. The great reli- 
gious sects organized themselves into parties, and a proscription w^as 



COLONIAL FEUDS. 



237 




WILLIAM IIL 



commenced ao^ainst the Cat})^ lies. The g-overnor raised an armed 
force, seized the colonial archives, and marched against his oppo- 
nents;, but, in a bntlle fought near the site of Annapohs, his party 
were dispersed and hifriself taken prisoner. Four of his men were 
executed. The disturbances continued until 1660, when the upper 
house of the legislature was dissolved, and the entire management of 
affairs devolved upon the popular brunch. This continued until the 
tiestoration of Charles II., when the old order of administration was 
restored, the proprietor reinstated, and peace secured by a general 
amnesty for all offences. Emigration was renewed with considerablt 
activity, especially amoijgthe labouring classes, who, under indentures 
for a term of years, had the expenses of their voyage defrayed. 

When the Revolution occurred in England, the Protestants of 
Maryland, inspired with new courage, rose in arms, overturned thh 
government, and substituted a provisional one. King William, who 
doubtless had an interest in favour of the insurgents, gave his entire 
sanction to their proceedings and took the government into his own 
hands. After a short tenure by Andros, it was directed during six 



288 



MARYLAND. 



years by Nicholson, who, on the whole, gave satisfaction. The Pro- 
testants considered their wrongs as redressed, nor do we hear of any 
complaints from the opposite party. Under the successive admi- 
nistrations of Blackeston, Seymour, Corbet, and Hunt, the province 
continued tranquil and contented. In 1716, the inheritance having 
fallen to Charles, Lord Baltimore, who professed the Protestant reli- 
gion, George I. was induced to restore his patent, which continued 
till the Revolution in the hands of the family. It was first ruled by 
B. Leonard Calvert, a relation of the proprietor, who was succeeded 
in 1732 by Samuel Ogle. The colony continuing to flourish, re- 
ceived a large accession of Presbyterians from the north of Ireland, 
who, after settling in Pennsylvania, sold their possrssions and 
removed to this more favourable climate. 



JOHN -WINTHROP. 



CHAPTER XYIL 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

N 1606, Sir George Popham was sent from Eng- 
land, by the Plymouth Company, with a hundred 
men, to form a colony in America. He chose a 
site on the Kennebec ; and, with forty-five of hia 
company, commenced a settlement, under the 
name of St. George. During the winter, they 
endured great sufferings from cold and famine; 
their president died, and the store-house was consumed by fire. 
The settlement was consequently abandoned in the following year. 
But for a series of unforeseen calamities, this attempt would probably 
have given New England a priority, in point of age, to Virginia. 

No further attempt was made at colonization in this quarter, until 
1614, when Captain John Smith visited it in two ships, established 
a lucrative trade with the Indians, and explored the interior, togethei 
with the coast from Cape Cod to the Penobscot. He named t 
16 239 




240 



MASSACIilTSETTS. 



country New Encrland, and prepared a map of it, which is slih 
extant, and is strikingly correct in all its outlines. 

On his return, he succeeded in rousinor a spirit of enterprise, 
which, for a while, promised the most flatterinor results. Smith 
sailed the following year, under the auspices of the Plymouth Com- 
pany, but was driven back by storms. On a second attempt, his 
crew mutinied, and, while engasfed in quelling- this new danger, liis 
ship was seized by French pirates, and he escaped only by means 
of an open boat. On his return to England, he was appointed life 
admiral of the colony, and obtained a charter (1620) for settling all 
lands between the fort eth and forty-eighth degrees of north latitude. 

Meanwhile, influences were in operation which, although appa- 
rently insignificant, were to outstrip royal patents in the march of 
colonization, and found a colony on the wild shores of New Eng- 
land, whose potency was to be realized throughout America. The 
Puritans, driven from their own country by religious intolerance, 
had settled in Holland, in 1608, and, for eleven years, lived in haj> 
piness under their pastor, John Robinson. Unable, however, to feel 
at home, in a country whose laws, customs, and language were en- 
tirely different from their own, these men obtained a grant of land 
from the London Company, and permission to emigrate. The king, 
however, remained hostile, and want of funds obliged them to form 
a partnership, on very disadvantageous terms, with some English 
merchants. They were thus enabled to purchase the vessels 
Speedwell (sixty tons) and Mayflower (a hundred and eighty-tons), 
the former of which sailed to Delfthaven, to take on board the breth 
ren. The departure was a solemn and impressive scene. Kneel- 
ing on the strand, in presence of his noble-hearted followers, so soon 
to dare the horrors of a savage wilderness, and surrounded by thou- 
sands of spectators, the venerable Robinson dedicated their cause to 
Gi;d, and gave them his parting blessing. Many a tear was shed 
as companions, endeared by years of persecution, adversity, and afflic- 
tion, parted, with but little prospect of ever again uniting. The two 
vessels joined- at Southampton, and thence proceeded on their gi^at 
w^'stern voyage ; but, before they reached the Land's End, the 
Speedwell was obliged to put back to Dartmouth for repairs. After 
a second trial the captain again pronounced her unfit for the voyage, 
end sailed for Plymouth. These disasters and alarms, though in- 
volving the loss of much precious time, " winnowed their number 
of J.hc cowardly and the lukewarm and they finally set sail in one 



LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS. 



241 




vessel,* (September 16, 1620,) numbering a hundred and two per 
sons. 

They had a tempestuous voyage, and though their destination was 
the mouth of the Hudson, tney arrived, on the 19th of November, 
in view of a great promontory, which proved to be Cape Cod. The 
captain, it has been alleged, had received a bribe from the Dutch to 
avoid a place where they projected a settlement. Of this, however, 
the adventurers being ignorant, were comforted by the view of a 
goodly land, wooded to the water's edge. Whales so abounded, that 
had the crew possessed means and instruments, which, to their great 
regret, were wanting, they might have procured £4000 worth of 
oil. They sailed on toward their destination, but being driven back 
by contrary winds, determined to go ashore. Previously, however, 
they sought to obviate the danger of discord by a mutual agreement, 
in the name of God, to combine into a body politic; framing and 
duly observing laws for the general good. 

They landed on the 21st, but being informed that more commo- 
dious spots might be found to the north-west, in the interior of the 
great Bay of Massachusetts, they determined that a select party 
should proceed in the shallop in search of them. The boat, how- 
ever, was in such disrepair that it could not sail till the end of two 
or three weeks; sixteen of them, therefore, resolved to make an ex- 
Lursion into the interior. They met no natives, but found on a hill, 
half-buried in the ground, several baskets filled with ears of corn 

31 X 



242 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



part of which they carried away, meaning to satisfy the owners on 
the first opportunity, which unluckily never occurred. They saw 
many geese and ducks, but were unable to reach them ; and being 
exposed to severe cold, hastily returned. Soon after, they started 
for the same spot, named Cornhill, in the neighbourhood of which 
they collected ten bushels of grain, esteemed a providential supply. 
4 They hghted upon a village without inhabitants ; but the houses 
were neatly constructed of young saplings bent at top, as in an ar- 
bour, and covered wnhout and within with fine mats. Eagles' 
claws, deer's feet, and harts' horns, were stuck into them as charms 
and ornaments. They then regained their boat, and sailed round to 
the ship. Some of their number urged that they should remain at 
least during the winter in this creek, where corn and fish could be 
procured, while many were disabled by sickness for further removal. 
The majority, however, observed that water was scarce, and the 
anchorage for ships too distant ; that they had every chance of find- 
ing a better situation, and to fix here and then remove would b6 
doubling their labour. On the 16th of December, therefore, the 
shallop being at length ready, a chosen party set sail. After pro- 
ceeding six or seven leagues, they reached a bay forming a good 
harbour, but without a stream falling into it. Seeing some Indian 
wigwams, they followed, but could not reach the people, and found 
only a large burying-place. They returned to sleep at the landing- 
place, but at midnight were awakened by "a great and hideous 
cry," which, they flattered themselves, proceeded only from wolves 
or foxes. Next morning, just after prayers, the sound was heard 
with redoubled violence, and was most dreadful. A straggler rushed 
in, crying, "they are men — Indians." Though the party ran to 
their arms, before they could be mustered, the arrows were, flying 
thick among them. A brisk fire checked the assailants ; but the 
chief, shooting from a tree, stood three discharges, till at the fourth 
he screamed out and ran, followed by his men. They were reck 
oned at thirty or forty, and numerous arrows were picked up ; but, 
providentially, not one Englishman was hurt. 

They sailed fifteen leagues farther, and, on the 19th, reached a 
harbour that had been strongly recommended. The weather was 
dark and stormy, and the entrance encumbered with rocks ; yet they 
fortunately ran in on a fine sandy beach. This being Saturday, 
they did not land till Monday the 21st, when they were highly 
pleased, finding a commodious harbour, a land well wooded, vines. 



SETTLEMENT OF NEW PLYMOUTH. 



243 




DEATH OF GOVSRNOK C A R V B B. 

cnerries, and berries, lately planted, and a hili cleared for corn. 
There was no navigable stream, but several brooks of fresh water 
fell into the sea. They advanced seven or eight miles into the 
country without seeing any Indians. 

They now finally fixed upon this spot, to which, on the 29th, the 
vessel was brought round; and they named it New Plymouth, to 
commemorate hospitalities received at home. The erection of 
houses, however, was a hard task, amid severe weather, short days, 
and very frequent storms. By distributing the unmarried among 
the several families, they reduced the buildings wanted to nine- 
teen, and by the 20th of January, had completed die, twenty feet 
square, for public meetings. The exposure, however, and wading 
through the water in such inclement weather, brought on severe ill- 
ness, to u'hich Carver, a governor highly esteemed, and many 
others, fell victims. But on the 13th of March, a south wina sprung 
up ; the weather became mild ; the birds sung in the woods most 
pleasantly ; the invalids quickly recovered ; and many of them lived 
10 a good old age. 

In the autumn of 1621, the merchants sent out another vesse 
with thirty-five settlers ; but misled by " prodigal reports of plenty 
sent home by certain colonists, they supplied no provisions ; nay 



244 



MASSACHUSETTS. 




THB TRBATT WITH M A. 8 8 A 8 S O I T 



tne crew required to be provided with a portion for their return 
voyage. The consequence was, that in the course of the winter, 
the colonists were reduced to a half allowance of corn daily, then to 
five kernels a piece ; lastly, to entire want. Equally destitute of 
live-stock, they depended wholly on wild animals. Till May, 1622, 
fowls abounded ; but there remained then merely fish, which they 
had not nets to catch ; and it was only by feeding on the shell 
species, collected among the rocks, that they were preserved from 
absolute starvation. 

Hitherto but few Indians had been seen ; but in the latter end of 
March, a sachem, named Samoset, entered the village and exclaimed 
in broken Enghsh, "Welcome, Englishmen !" This was followed 
by a treaty with Kmg Massassoit, which secured peace with his 
tribes for nearly fifty years. Similar treaties were concluded with 
other tribes. Canonicus, however, sachem of the Narragansetts, 



PHOGRESR OF THE COLONY. 



245 




SiDTTLHMENT OF BOSTON. 



sent to Governor Bradford a bundle of arrows in a rattlesnake's 
skin ; but the intrepid officer coolly stuffed the skin with powder 
arid ball, and return* d it. This so frightened the Indian that he 
refused to touch it, and after beino; circulated ainono; (;ther tribes 
with siniilar effects, it was returned to Plyniouth. 

In 1022, a merchant of London, natned Weston, with sixty fol 
lowers, commenced a .settlement at Weymouth. Idleness soon re- 
duced them to poverty, and their encroachments on the Indians were 
so unscrupulous that the latter determined on the utter destruction 
of their white neighbours. The plot was revealed by Massassoit. 
Captain Standish, with eight men, being sent to support the new 
settlement, succeeded in filling the Indian chief with several of his 
men, and breaking up th.? conspiracy. 

In 1626, the colony purchased the rights of the London ner- 
chants, and distributed th * property among the emigrants. Unfor- 
tunately, however, Robinson and his friends remaining in Holland, 
were unable to obtain transportation in consequence of opposition in 
England. 

In 1624, Mr. White, a Puritan minister, formed a settlement ai 
Cape Ann, which remained two years. In 1624, Salem was settled 

X 2 



MASSACHUSETTS. 




BANI8HMBNT OF ROSaa WILLIAMS. 



by John Endicolt, under the auspices of the "Governor and Com- 
pany of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England." Charlestown 
was founded next year. The settlement was denominated the Mas- 
sachusetts Bay Colony, and its niembers were greatly strengthened 
in 1630, when the celebrated John Winthrop arrived with three 
hundred pious families. Winthrop was chosen governor of the 
whole colony, and established his residence where Boston now 
stands. Misfortunes, however, still thickened around them ; sick- 
ness and a severe cHmate made fearful inroads into their numbers, 
a;nd, before December, two hundred died. But the survivors were 
not discouraged. They had found a home in the wilderness, where 
the asperities of nature were less formidable than the persecutions 
of man ; and the hardships inseparable from their situation could 
not shake their determined minds. 

In 1631, a law was passed limiting the rights of citizenship to 
members of church, and another, making the offices of governor 



blR HAKRY VANE CHOSEN GOVERNOR. 



247 




8fK HARRY VA.NB, 



deputy-governor, and assistants, elective by the people. The whole 
form of government was changed, in 1634, from a pure democracy 
to a representative one. The former statute, somewhat intolerable 
in itself, was soon followed by proceedings still more arbitrary. A 
clergyman, named Roger Williams, having been driven from his 
native country by English bigotry, sought a home among the Puri- 
tans, and became pastor of Salem. Here he proclaimed, among 
other things, perfect freedom of conscience in religious matters, 
denied the authority of the king to enforce an oath of allegiance, or 
to deprive the Indians of their lands. Men like the Puritans could 
not regard such opinions without alarm ; and Willian)s was soon 
arraigned for trial. Banishment from the colony followed, (1635,j 
and the fearless advocate of religious freedom became the father of 
Rh<ide Island. 

At this time, the colony received an accession to their number of 
abuut three thousand emigrants, among whom were Hugh Peter 
and the famous Sir Harry Vane. At the age of twenty-five, the 
iatter was chosen governor. This increase was followed by an emi- 
gration uf a small company (October, 1635) to the valley of the 



248 MASSACHUSETTS. 

(Connecticut. This was the origin of the state known at present by 
that nati e. 

Tl e difficulties with Roger Williams were scarcely terminated, 
when others of a still more serious character arose with the sect 
called Antinomians. These seem to have had the.r origin in the 
colony, (Ut of the practice of debating religious topics during the 
meetings f)n the Sabbath. In opposition to these, a lady, named 
Mrs. Hutchinson, organized similar assemblies for her own sex, in 
which b^ th old and new tenets were discussed with a freedom and 
popularity which soon roused the attention of the whole colony. 
But although the ministers and civil and ecclesiastical officers ar- 
rayed themselves against her, and condemned the new doctrines as 
heretical, yet her assemblies were constantly crowded to overflowing. 
Tl'he ccnlagion spread through all classes of society, until at length 
political parties were based on the distinction between Antinomian- 
ism and the established creed. An election was held for governor, 
in which Vane was candidate of the Hutchinson party, and Win- 
throp of the Puritan. The latter was elected, and measures were 
imniediately taken for the suppression of heresy. A judicial war 
followed, in which Mrs. Hutchinson and several of her followers 
were tried, condemned, and banished. She went to Rhode Island, 
and was cordially received by Roger Williams. 

While these unhappj events were transpiring, a war occurred 
with the Pequod Indians, which terminated in the utter extinction 
of that warlike tribe. In this affair, the banished Williams dis 
played a true nobleness of soul, by using his influence successfully 
in breakmg up a league between these savages and the Narragan- 
setts, and inducing the latter to join the colonists. 

In 1G43, a union or confederacy was formed by the four colonies 
of Massachusetts, New Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut, with 
a view of protecting thenjselves against the Dutch and French colo- 
nists, and more especially against the Indians. The executive body 
consisted of two commissioners from each colony, whose only quali- 
fication was church membership. They had no right to interfere in 
the internal jurisdiction of any of the states, but could provide for 
the general defence, declare war, order levies of troops, and con- 
riude peace. A singular feature was their entire inability to enforce 
.heir decrees, these being merely intimated by them to the confeder- 
hle bodies with whom it rested to carry them into execution. The 
k.ygue consisting only of organized churches, excluded from iia 



TREATMENT OF QUAKERS. 



241) 



»nembers, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine. As this ren- 
dered the situation of Roger WiJliams somewhat precarious, he made 
two visits to England, and, through the influence of Vane, obtained 
a full charter for his little colony. This colonial confederation lasted 
forty years. 

In 1044, Massachusetts passed a law by which the Council, when 
in session, should hold their sessions independent of the governor's 
presence. In 1652, its territory was extended by the accession of 
Maine. This province had been chartered and se^'led by Ferdinand 
Gorges, in 1689, but a variety of conflicting claims had produced a 
state of almost utter anarchy which finally forced the colonists to 
se^k the protection of their flourishing neighbour. 

But Massachusetts had not yet learned the secret of securing do- 
mestic tranquillity. A sect had arisen in England, the meii:ibers of 
which, on account of some irregular bodily movenrients, had received 
the derisive title of Quakers. They seem to have proceeded to great 
extremes, rejecting all hunian learning and ordinances, and placing 
their whole dependency on the direct agency of the Spii'it. Guided 
by supernatural injpulses, they professed to be intrusted with mes- 
sages and mandates to kings and cities, challenged the obedience of 
aJI, announced judgments and indicated the means of averting them. 
In executing such commissions, no regard was paid tu huiuan dig- 
nities, or to the rules and usages of society ; hence, they were 
branded as mad, thuugh their writings are generally m a sober and 
reason mg tone. 

In 1656, a lew of this sect arrived at Boston, bat were sent back 
by the authoi'ities in the same vessel by which they came. This 
did not prevent the arrival of others, and soon the colony became a 
.scene of exciteihent and violence, little worthy the character of men 
whose puiilical privileges had so often been endangered by eccles;as- 
tical bigotry. IVumbers were fined, whipped, imprisoned, banished, 
or executed. In 165S, a law was passed inflicting death on any 
Q,uaker who should revisit the colony after being banished. But so 
great was the number of those who aspired after the glories of mar- 
tyrdom, that their sufferings, united with a uniform mildness of 
character and deportment, at length wrought a revolution in popular 
opinion. Wenlock Christian, sentenced lo death for returning horn. 
banishment, was released. One law against them after another was 
ttbolishea, until the Quakers ceased to be an object of legal persecu 
lion 

a2 



250 



MASSACHUSETTS. 




In 1661, Whaley and Goffe, two of the judges who had voted for 
the deaih uf Charles I., arrived at Bcston and announced the restor- 
ation of royalty. This was unwelcome tidings; for during the P'-o- 
tectorate, Cromwell had extended much favour to Massachus»^tta, 
and even cffered the colonists Jamaica as a climate more congpntal 
than their own. Accordino^ly, when orders came from the new king 
for the arrest of Giffe and Whaley, they had been so carefully '-on- 
cealed by the colonists as nowhere to be found. 

In 1664, an attempt was made to encroach on the colonial privi- 
leges by the appointment of commissioners to " hear and deterrrjine 
all ccmplaints that might exist in New England, and take such mea- 
sures as ihey might deem expedient for settling the peace and secu- 
rity rf the country cn a S':l:d foundation." This occasion*.'f^ much 
disturbance, and in Massachusetts and New Hampshire was strenu- 
ously and successfully resisted. They were at length recalled, and 
New Ene'and resumed its career of growth and prosperity. 

In 166"^. Philip, the younger sen of iMassassoit, succeeded his 
brother Alexander, as sachem, or king, of the Wampanoago. The 
treaty made by his father, forty years before, had never b^en vio- 
lated ; b-jjt a new era was at hand, whose terrible events ^ere to 
formi one of the most tragic pages of our colonial history Philip 



KING Philip's war. 



251 




soENi IN KINO Philip's war. 



wns a young chief, a perfect model of an Indian warrior, and pos- 
sessing a grasp of design and intellect far superior to his race. For 
some reasons, never fully explained, he became incensed against the 
whites, and succeeded by his eloquence and address in uniting all 
the neighbouring tribes in a scheme for their entire annihilation. 

The first intelligence of the conspiracy was obtained through a 
friendly Indian, who paid for his faithfulness by his life. Three 
Indians were convicted of this murder, one of whom acknowledged 
that he had been instigated to it by Philip. Unable longer to re- 
main concealed, the chief determined upon the most sudden and 
vigorous measures; and sending the women and children to the 
Narragansetts, attacked the village of Swanzey, (July 4, 1675,) and 
killed several of the inhabitants. Roused by this daring deed, the 
colonists raised a considerable force, penetrated to Mount Hope, the 
Indian warrior's summer residence, and, on finding thpt he had fied, 
marched into the Narragansett country, and concludea a treaty with 
that tribe. On the 28th, a battle occurred at Pocasset (Tiverton) 
Swamp, in which the. colonists were defeated, with the loss of six- 
teen They then besieged the Indians for thirteen days, hoping to 
reduce them by starvation ; but Philip managed to escape to Con- 
'ktfcticut, where he was joined by the Nipmucks, near Brookfield. 



252 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



The latter tribe fell upon a party of twenty men undei Captains 
Wheeler and Hutchinson, (August 12,) killing- nearly all of ihem 
They then proceeded to Brookfield, which but for timely alarm from 
the fugitives, would have been completely surprised. It was be 
sieged two days, partially fired, and various expedients adopted to 
force an entrance. The arrival of reinforcements for the garrison 
obliged the besiegers to retire. 

On the 5th of September, a battle was fought at Deerfield, in 
which twenty-six Indians were killed and ten colonists. Six da)^s 
pfter, the Indians burned the town. Hadley, south of Deerfield, was, 
on the same day, (the Sabbath,) attacked by a party of the enemy. 
A singular incident occurred here. While the inhabitants were col- 
lected in terror and confusion, an unknown person, of venerable 
aspect, suddenly appeared, and after restoring order, led them against 
the Indians, who were speedily dispersed. The leader then sud- 
denly disappeared. Of course, the inhabitants considered him a 
special messeni:er from heaven ; but it was afterwards ascertained to 
have been W^illiam Guffe, the proscribed judge of Charles I. 

On the 28th, a sanguinary conflict took place on a small stream 
south of Deei field. Eighty young men, under Captain Lathrop, were 
surrounded by a thousand Indians, and, with but a few exceptions, 
massacred. During the action, Captain Mosey, with seventy men, 
arrived from Deerfield ; but, after a struggle of several hours, was 
driven back. The battle was finally terminated by a reinforcement 
of a hundred colonists, and sixty friendly Indians. From this occur- 
rence, the stream of water was subsequently known as Bloody 
Brook. On the 15th of October, Springfield was attacked and 
burned by the savages; but most of the inhabitants had, through 
timely warning, been enabled to escape. Hatfield was next assaulted, 
(October 29,) but without success. Immediately after, Philip in- 
duced the Narragansetts to join him, notwiths'tanding their treaty 
with the colonists. 

Hitherto the colonists had acted in small bands, without any defi- 
nite plan ; but the successes of their formidable enemy soon caused 
a union for mutual defence. Massachusetts, Plymouth Bay, and 
Connecticut, raised fifteen hundred men, under Governor Winslow, 
who, with a number of friendly Indians, proceeded against the Nar- 
ragansetts. On the 28ih of December, the forces of the three colo- 
nies were united at Pelaquamscot, and marched through a deep" 
^now, toward the enemy, who was encamped at about fifteen miles' 



KING PHILIP'S WAR. 



253 




BURNING OF SPHINQFIBLO. 



distance, in a larqe swamp. The English arrived there at about one 
o'clock in the afternoon, and immediately marched f(jr\vard in quest 
of the enemy's camp. The whole army entered the swamp, fol- 
lowing the Indians as they retreated into their fortress. On attack- 
ing this, they were at first driven back; but, in a second attempt, 
they carried the fortification, fired the wigwams, and massacred ail 
within reach. Numbers of women and children perished in the 
flames. The fugitives fled to a neighbouring swamp. Their loss 
nas been estimated at a thousand, and that of the colonists two hun- 
dred and thirty. The Nurrngansett warriors afterward proceeded to 
the Nipmuck country. 

Although this action was a severe blow to the enemy, yet Philip 
was by no means disheartened. By his influence, the more northern 
tribes were brought down upon the settlements, and the war became 
more general than ever. But the spirit of the colonists was fu!ly 
aroused, and almost every attempt of the Indians was promptly and 
successfully resisted. Hunted fronj place to place, and disheartened 
by continual defeat, they began to come in by small parties and surren- 
der. Philip was compelled to fly from the Mohawks, among whom 
he had taken refuge; and now with a large party he lurked near 
Mount Hope. Here, on the 2d of August, he was surprised by 
Captain Church, a hundred and thirty of his men killed, and his 
wife and son taken prisoners. He himself barely escaped. The 
t\ retched prince now sought to secrete himself in the depths of a 

Y 



2r>4 • MASSACHUSETTS. 

swamp, but was betrayed by a deserter belohging to his own tribe 
When the colonists surrounded the place, (August 22,) he attempted 
to escape by flight, but was shot by a friendly Indian. His death 
broke up the conrederac3% although some of the northern Indians 
continued hostile, until 1678. 

In 1680 New Hampshire was separated from Massachusetts, and 
erected into a separate province — a measure which seems to have 
been unpopular with both colonies. Soon after, Charles II. declared 
the Massachusetts charter forfeited, in consequence of the stand 
taken by that province, in opposition to his commercial restrictions. 
This was followed by similar attacks on the neighbouring colo- 
nies ; but in the midst of his arbitrary schemes the king died. 
His successor followed the same policy, deprived the provinces of 
their charters, and appointed Sir Edmond Andros royal governor of 
New England. This gentleman rendered himself so obnoxious by 
his arbitrary measures, as to receive the title of New England's 
tyrant; and when, in April, 1689, news reached Boston of the ac- 
eession of the Prince of Orange, he was thrown into prison, with 
his officers, and subsequently sent under arrest to England. This 
was followed by a return to the charter governments. 

ITRTXCt King William's war, New York 
and New England united in 
an expedition against Canada. 
Massachusetts furnished the na- 
val, and her sister province the 
land forces ; but the enterprise 
failed, in consequence of the 
return of the latter troops, and 
the arrival of a large French 
array at Quebec. To pay the 
expenses of the expedition, 
bills of credit were issued for the first time in America. In 1692, 
a royal government was established in New England, by which the 
Plymouth Bay colony was united to Massachusetts, and New Hamp- 
shire erected into a separate colony. 

When Massachusetts, having nobly struggled through political 
difficulties, seemed approaching a tranquil state, a drama opened, 
whose scenes, though peculiarly painful, may yet afLrd a useful 
lesson to the student of history. The belief in witches — wicked 
beings endued with supernatural power by the great enemy of 




TRIAL OF WITCHES. 



256 



mankind — was at one time general throughout Europe ; and gave 
way very slowly before the progress of light and civilization. 
James I. placed much of his learned pride in the skill with which 
he traced the signs of a witch ; such discoveries being always fol- 
lowed by the most inhuman persecutions against these unhappy 
persons. The Puritans and Presbyterians, however opposite in 
other matters, were not in th-s respect much wiser; hence the New 
Englanders went out with this belief, which still prevailed among the 
most learned of their countrymen. 

MONO the first cases of this delusion was 
that of a daughter and niece of Mr. Paris, 
minister of Salem. These children were 
afflicted with a sense of choking, and as 
though pins were stuck into the skin, accom- 
panied with inability to speak, and hysteric 
contortions of the limbs. Unable to suggest 
a remedy, the physicians at length declared 
their patients " under an evil hand." An Indian domestic, falling 
under suspicion, was immediately thrown into prison. Mr. Bur- 
roughs, a respectable clergyman, was executed, because he denied 
the existence of witches. Soon, no age, sex, or condition was 
spared, and the cases became so numerous that the prisons of Salem^ 
could no longer contain the crowds of suspected persons. The 
whole colony was filled with distress and fear. The principal peo- 
ple formed themselves into an association to meet " this dreadful 
assault from hell." They appointed a solemn fast, that the Lord 
might be induced "to rebuke Satan, and show light to his people in 
this day of darkness ;" following which was a series of trials, that 
relentlessly denounced death on all found guilty of this fearful 
charge. 

Nothing is more astonishing than the confessions of the suspected' 
persons. They display a superstition and fanaticism, together with* 
a state of society which requires the most undoubted evidence 
to be believed. The colony was reduced to a dreadful condition. 
Nineteen had suffered death ; eight more were under sentence ; one 
hundred and fifty were in prison, and fresh crowds were continually 
thrust in. Charges were brought against persons of the first conse- 
'^uence ; no man's character, property, nor fife were for a momen; 
secure; and even those most active in prosecuting, learned, with 
horror, that their own spectres were beginning to walk abroad, commit 
17 




256 



MASSACHUSETTS. 




ting actions that would bring them to a fatal end. A feeling was at 
length aroused that matters had gone too far ; and soon after an 
assembly of ministers, convened by the governor, vvent far toward 
discountenancing capital punishment on witches. Of fifty-six casei 
presented at the ensuing sessions, thirt}^ were ignored by the grand 
jury, and but three of the remainder condemned. Immediately 
after, with the general concurrence of the people, the governor threw 
open the prison doors, and stopped all further proceedings. 

Massachusetts, from this time until the Seven Years' War, enjoyed, 
like the other colonies, a course of prosperity, chequered only by 
some internal agitations. She took a very active part in the military 
operations of successive wars waged by the British against the French 
colonies and their Indian allies. 

EANWHILE the domestic af?I\irs of the pro- 
vince ceased to exhibit those violent fluctuations 
which had hitherto distracted it. Lord Bella- 
mont, who went out as governor in 1699, was 
extremely popular ; and it was to the great re- 
gret of the people he was transferred to New 
York, after fourteen months' administration. 
He was succeeded by Dudley, who, on account of his peculiai 
opinions on government, seems to have been no great favourite. 
After twelve years he was succeeded by Colonel Shute. 

In 1727, he was succeeded by Burnet, a very accomplished per 
son, and who, at New York, had made himself extremely acceptable. 
Under him, however, the question of income came to a crisis. The 
Assembly, much mortified by having, under the charter of William, 
been deprived of the choice of a governor, endeavoured to keep him 
still under their influence by granting his salary only from year to 
year, and varymg its amount according as he had given satisfaction. 
This arran|;ement was very disagreeable to him, and still more to thfi 
ministry at home, against whose power it was directly levelled. 
Burnet, relying on their support, pressed with great vehemence for 
a permanent salary; but it was strenuously resisted, and the 
controversy was suspended by his death in 1729. The cabinet then 
sent out Belcher, who had formerly acted as their agent, but with 
distinct instructions to insist on this point, which, it was hoped, his- 
great popularity might gain. He does not, however, seem to have 
entered on the undertaking very heartily ; and when the Assembly 
passed a liberal vote, he obtained permission to accept it. Though 



GOVEKNMENT OF THE PROVINCE. 



257 



still ordered to press the general measure, he seems to have con 
earned himself very little about the matter, and thus the Assembly 
by dogged perseverance, finally gained this important object. They 
had remarked, that in these long controversies, ministers uniformly 
sought to overawe them by threatening to lay their conduct before 
the British legislature. Yet this menace having never been exe- 
cuted, they were led to suspect that body to be more favourable to 
them than the court represented. At all events they felt themselves 
encouraged to transmit a petition, desiring to have the direction and 
control of all public moneys ; and hence their surprise and indigna 
tion were extreme when they learned that a vote had been passed 
pronouncing it to be "frivolous and groundless, an high insult upon 
his majesty's government, and tending to shake off the dependency 
of the said colony upon this kingdom, to which by law and right they 
are and ought to be subject." 

In 1740, Belcher fell into unjust suspicion with the ministry, and 
was removed ; but on his innocence being ascertained, he was com- 
pensated some years after with the government of New Jersey. He 
was succeeded by Shirley, who espoused somewhat the cause of pre- 
rogative ; yet, by moderation and great kindness towards the oppo- 
site party, he retained a large share of their good will. This was 
heightened by his zealous promotion of the military operations 
against Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, which were carried on chiefly 
from Massachusetts, and crowned with signal success. Pownall, who 
was appointed in 1757, showed some preference for the popular 
party, though without alienating their antagonists; and his reputation 
was aided by certain warlike exploits in which he had some share. 
Bernard, who took his place in 1760, belongs to the period of revo- 
lutionary trouble. 




THS »IR8T MOWJtT COINID IN » « "W « N O L A N D. 



33 



EMIGRATION OF MB HOOKES AND HIS COMPANY 



CHAPTER XYIII. 

SETTLEMENT OF CONNECTICUT. 

T has already been mentioned that in 1635, a 
company from Massachusetts, led by the Rev. 
Mr. Hooker, settled on the Connecticut river ; 
prior to this, however, the territory had been ob- 
tained by the Earl of Warwick from the council 
of Plymouth, and afterwards transferred to a 
company of gentleman. During the same yeac 
the terrjti ry in question was visited by Mr. Winslow. 

The Massachusetts emigrants settled at Wethersfield, Windsor, 
Hartford, and Saybrook. The latter was named after Lord Say-and- 
Seal and Lord Brooke, two of the proprietors. 

The destruction of the Pequods has already been mentioned. 
Before this the Connecticut settlers were made to feel the principal 

268 




BURNING OF THE PEQUOD VILLAGE. 



259 




MASSACRS OF THE PEQUOD S. 



part of the calamities inseparable from Indian warfare. When the 
colonial force was raised which terminated the outrages, Connecticut 
furnished one hundred and fifty men, of whom seventy were Mohe- 
gan Indians. The expedition marched across the country to the 
Pequod fort, which was reached on the 5th of June. The object 
was to surprise it, but this was prevented by the barking of a watch- 
dog. A fierce battle commenced, hand to hand, in which no quarter 
was shown. The enemy were so numerous as to render the contest 
for a long time doubtful ; but before daybreak Mason fired the wig- 
wams, and, encircling the burning village, shot down the warriors 
with the greatest ease. Six hundred of both sexes and all ages were 
massacred or burnt, seven were captured, and seven escaped. The 
colonists lost twenty-two, of whom two were killed. This terrible 
visitation completely broke the spirit of the neighbouring Indians, 
and secured peace to the settlements. 

In the latter part of 1637, New Haven was settled by some adven- 
turers from Boston. The settlement was further strengthened in the 
following spnng ; when John Davenport, a Puritan minister, and a 
Mr. Eaton, brought a number of settlers from Boston. Their govern- 



260 



SETTLEMENT OF CONNECTICUT. 




SIGNING OF THI NSW BNOLAND O O N F B D E R A.T I O N 



ment was based on strictly religious principles ; Mr. Eaton was 
annually chosen governor until his death, and the colony seemed to 
have increased much faster than their more eastern neighbours. 

Until this period Connecticut had acknowledged the jurisdiction 
of Massachusetts ; but, as the territory was without the patent of the 
latter community, the people convened at Hartford, [January 24th, 
1639,] and formed themselves into an independent colony. Their 
constitution provided that citizens should take an oath of allegiance 
to the conmionweallh, instead of the crown ; that all legislation should 
be vested in the general court ; and that the governor and legislature 
should be elected annually. Hartford, Saybrook, and New Haven, 
were at this time separate colonies. 

In 1643 Connecticut joined the New England Confederation. The 
great object of this compact seems to have been protection from the 
encroachments of the Dutch in New Netherlands. Disputes between 
the European powers disturbed the harmony of the colonies until 
1650, when the Dutch governor concluded a treaty at Hartford de- 
fining the boundary line of hi& dominions. The occurrence of war 
between England and Holland [1651] opened new grounds for colo- 
nial rivalship. War was actually declared an-ainst New Netherlands 



PRESERVATION OF THE CHARTER. 



281 



by the. Confederation, but Massachusetts refused to furnish her quota 
of men. Connecticut then obtained from Cromwell the grant of a 
fleet to assist their forces ; but the expedition was interrupted by the 
conclusion of peace. 

In 1662 Connecticut acknowledged her allegiance to Charles II., 
and through the influence of Lord Say-and-Seal, and the younger 
Winthrop, obtained a charter of unexampled liberality. It granted 
all the territory between the bay and river of Narragansett and the 
Pacific ocean, embracing the New Haven colony and a portion of 
Rhode Island. This caused dissatisfaction with the people of the 
latter settlement, which, on their receiving a charter in the follow-ing 
year, overrunning the Connecticut Jine, broke out into open dissen- 
sions, which lasted more than sixty years. 

About the time of King Philip's war, [July, 1675,] Governor 
Andros, of New York, entered the mouth of the Connecticut, raised 
the king's flag, and demanded the surrender of the main fort; but, 
through the firmness of the commandant. Captain Bull, he wa>, 
obliged to return to New York. A more serious attempt was made 
in 1687, when Andros appeared at Hartford with a commission from 
King James, appointing him governor of New England. The assem- 
bly being in session, he demanded the colonial charter. A fierce 
contention arose, which lasted until night, the charter in the mean- 
vi'hile being laid upon the table. Suddenly every light was extin- 
guished. The motive for this singular occurrence became apparent 
when the candles were relighted. The charter had been removed 
by Captain Wadsworth, and placed in the trunk of an oak, which, 
from this circumstance, received the appellation of the Charter Oak. 
Although baffled in the attempt to deprive the people of their safe- 
guard, Andros assumed the control of affairs, and governed until the 
accession of King William. The inhabitants were then restored to 
their chartered privileges. 

The difficulties with New York, how^ever, were not yet ended. 
In 1693, Colonel Fletcher, governor of that province, visited Hartford 
for the purpose of enforcing a royal commission constituting him 
leader of the Connecticut militia. As this was an infringement of 
their charter, the legislature refused to acknowledge him ; in conse- 
quence of which he summoned the militia on parade. When his 
instructions were about to be read, Captain Wadsworth ordered the 
drums to beat. Fletcher demanded silence, and his secretary again 
commenced the reading. The drums again beat, and again silence 



262 



SETTLEMENT OF CONNECTICUT. 



was ordered. The intrepid Wadsvvorth now stepped forward, anr; 
said sternly: " If I am interrupted again, I will make daylight shine 
through you in one moment." This meaning language exerted a 
suitahle influence, and Fletcher returned to New York. From this 
period until the opening of the Seven Years' War, Connecticut stead- 
ily advanced in strength and prosperity. In 1700, Yale College 
was founded at Saybrook by a few clergymen, and named after Ehhu 
Yale, one of its most active supporters. 




aOVERlfOR ANDBOS AND T H B COMMISSIONERS M I 3 S I N d 



ROGER WILLIAMS SNTaaTAINED BY THE INDIAN" 



CHAPTER XIX. 

RHODE ISLAND. 

E have had occasion, in the annals of Massa- 
chusetts, to notice the foundanon of this littie 
state by Roger Wilhams. After fleeing from 
Salem, and encountering many hardships, he 
reached a fertile spot at the head of a wind- 
ing bay, which he named Providence. His 
friendship with the Indians, who had protected him when an exile, 
and whose cause he had always espoused, enabled him without 
difficulty to procure for himself and a few followers of his adverse 
fortune a small territory. Here he proclaimed his laudable principle 
of general toleration ; and, receiving with kindness all who sought 
refuge in his domain, made it the chief resort of the partisans of the 
movement. Its numerous votaries, thrown out by the rigid ortho- 
doxy of Massachusetts, found here a hearty welcome. A certaih 
motley character, especially in regard to creed and worship, was th« 

263 




264 



RHODE ISLAND. 



necessary cc^sequence. Yet, even in periods of the most ra ^id 
innovation, there appears a tendenc}' to unity, caused by the newer 
and bolder sects absorbing those which preceded, and whose tenets 
had lost the gloss of novelty. The first great accession was from 
Mrs. Hutchinson's party; and though their views seem to have had 
little resemblance to his, the two were quickly amalgamated. These 
refugees, possessing considerable property, made a large purchase 
from the Indians, which, combined with Providence, composed the 
state of Rhode Island. The Baptist movement next followed, which 
Mrs. Hutchinson and her sisteF so zealously embraced that they pre- 
vailed upon Williams himself, at an advanced age, to submit anew to 
the sacred rite. Even he, however, was struck with horror at the 
wild effusions of Gorton, and at seeing them propagated in his settle- 
ment with the usual success. Actuated by his characteristic mild- 
ness, however, he merely effected an arrangement by which that 
personage, with his fervid adherents, went out and formed another 
establishment. This was soon followed by the Quaker excitement, 
which, in its greatest violence, he had sound judgment enough to 
repress ; but as he allowed to its adherents a refuge denied every- 
where else, Rhode Island soon became the point whence they issued 
forth to the neighbouring states, and upon which they returned. 
They experienced also the usual success of daring innovators, and, 
notwithstanding all his efforts, soon became the ruling sect. Mrs. 
Hutchinson was dead ; but her sister, Katherine Scott, and her inti- 
mate friend Mrs. Dyer, ranked high among the gifted prophetesses. 

From these causes, the colony silently grew, and in 1680 was 
reported to contain five hundred planters and five hundred other 
men, whence, as these last were apparently adults, we may infer an 
entire population of about four thousand. Newport was the harbour; 
but as yet there was very little either of commerce or of shipping. 
The religious sects were of course numerous, especially the Baptists 
and Cluakers. The settlement, however, had all along been viewed 
with an evil eye by the people of Massachusetts, who saw in it the 
chief pivot on which turned that enthusiastic movement by which 
Aey were so much annoyed. Its exclusion from the union of the 
colonies in 1643 marked strongly this spirit, and placed it in a some- 
what precarious situation. WiUiams, however, who in 1644 went 
to Britain, where the independents were then in full power, and his 
friend Vane one of their chief leaders, easily obtained a popular 
charter for the towns of Providence, Newport, and Portsmouth, with 



REIAINS HER CHARTER. 



265 



a recommendation equivalent to an order, that New England should 
exchange good offices with him. On his return he was received 
with a species of triumph; and his still jealous neighbours were 
obliged to content them.selves with shutting their state against him 
and his people. Again, after the Restoration, John Clarke, the 
agent of the colony, procured from Charles II. a fresh charter, 
securing all their privileges, and particularly confirming the right 
of religious freedom. That prince, however, in the end of his reign, 
and his successor, in a manner still more determined, applied them- 
selves to cancel all the colonial charters. In July, 1685, accordingly, 
a quo warranto was issued against that of Rhode Island, which, 
being announced to the Assembly, they sent a very humble reply, 
declaring their intention not to stand suit with his majesty, but 
earnestly soliciting a continuance of their privileges, especially in 
regard to their faith. James accepted their submission, and, by his 
instructions, Andros, in December, 1686, dissolved the government, 
broke its seal, and assumed the entire administration. But, after the 
Revolution of 1688, the people laid hold " of their former gracious pri- 
vileges," and shared in this respect the good fortune of Connecticut. 
They were allowed to resume their charter, which had never been 
,egally forfeited. 




PAWTUOKBT B. L 



GORGES AND MASON NAMINO THEIR PROVINCSS. 



CHAPTER XX. 



MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE. 




HE extensive region between Massachu- 
setts and the country claimed by France 
under the name of Acadia, having early 
drawn the notice of English adven- 
turers, the two most active members of 
the Plymouth Company, Sir Ferdinand 
Gorges and John Mason, undertook to 
colonize it. The latter, secretary to the 
council, obtained, in 1021, a grant of the lands between Salem and 
the Merrimack ; and next year, in conjunction with Gorges, of those 
between the last-mentioned river and the Kennebeck, as far as the 
St. Lawrence. In 1629, and again in 1635, when the company was 
broken up. Mason acquired fresh patents for his portion, which then 
received the name of New Hampshire. In 1638, however, before 
the settlement had come to any maturity, he died, and his family 
were unable to derive any benefit from this vast donation. Sir Fer- 
dinand, meantime, at the crisis of 1635, procured for himself exclu- 



EARLY SETTLEMENT. 



267 



sively the whole territory from New Hampshire to tli': Kennebeck, 
and this was confirnied in 1639 by a patent from the king, when it 
received the name of Maine. 

These proprietors appear to have set great value on their grants, 
and to have made active exertions to improve them. Dover and 
Portsmouth were early founded on the Piscataqua ; and in 1635, 
Gorges sent out his nephew to govern the district. Yet their settle- 
ments made very slow progress. Being high church and monarchy 
men, they granted none of those franchises by which alone emigrants 
could be attracted to this northern soil ; while to the aristocratic class 
Virginia offered a much more tempting resort. Only a few hardy 
adventurers were enticed by the abundant supply of fish and timber, 
who gradually formed along the coast small stations, adding the 
practice of a slight agriculture for the supply of immediate wants. 

Massachusetts, however, began to overflow into these territories. 
In 1637, W-heel\vright, th^ antincmian preacher, founded on the 
Piscataqua the town of Exeter, without paying much regard to the 
proprietor's rights, though he was ultimately obliged to submit to his 
officer, Williams. I'hree years afterwards, Massachusetts advanced 
claims to New Hampshire, as being within her patent; and although 
her pretensions were far from valid, her strength and the inclination 
of the people enabled her without difficulty to make thera good. 
This new member was incorporated and endowed with all her poli- 
tical privileges. Several zealous ministers were sent, who are said 
to have greatly improved the people; but they had the discretion not 
♦o enforce any exclusive system, and during nearly forty years of this 
rule the foundations of solid prosperity were laid. The feeling 
spread among the small seaports which began to stud the coast of 
Maine, and they were successively, either at their own request, or 
by the consent of large majorities, incorporated with the others. The 
proprietors loudly, and with good show of reason, remonstrated 
against these proceedings, but without obtaining any redress. The 
independents, now in power, were adverse to them, and friendly to 
Massachusetts ; while the people, included within the political sys- 
tem of the latter state, earnestly petitioned for its continuance. 

A complete reverse took place at the restoration of Charles II., all 
whose partialities were in favour of the old royalist proprietors, and 
against the Puritan colony. Gorges and Mason, grandsons of the 
original patentees, immediately applied for restitution of their rights, 
which was granted, and the commissioners then sent out were in- 



268 



MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



stnicted to enforce it. Yet the general court, by their locai power, 
the affections of the inhabitants, and by constantly evading the de- 
mand for deputies duly empowered, contrived, during sixteen years, 
10 retain the jurisdiction ; but being, in 1677, brought before the 
chief justices of England, their pretensions were at once set aside. 
Mason was also obliged to yield his authority, though retaining a 
claim upon the lands. Maine was assigned to Gorges ; but the rulers 
of Massachusetts contrived to purchase his rights for ^61250, a sum, 
perhaps, above its actual vaJue at the moment. They incurred re- 
proach by treating it as a subject territory, appointing the governor 
and council, though they graciously allowed a popular legislature. 

New Hampshire being thus thrown loose, it was determined to 
manage it as a royal province ; and in 1682, Edward Cranfield was 
sent as administrator. His government was one continued scene of 
discontent on the part of the people, amounting sometimes to rebel- 
lion. Mr. Bancroft represents him as avowedly making it his sole 
object to amass money. It appears more certain that all his maxims 
were those of high prerogative; while Massachusetts had breathed 
among the people the Puritan and republican spirit in its full force. 
He wrote " that while the clergy were allowed to preach, no true 
allegiance would be found in those parts." In 1685, he solicited his 
recall, declaring he should "esteem it the greatest happiness in the 
world to be allowed to remove from these unreasonable people. * 
Presently after, this country with the whole of New England was 
united under the successive governments of Dudley and Andros. At 
the Revolution, it again became a separate and royal colony, though 
with some dependence on Massachusetts. 




GOVERNOB S TUT V H 3 A.NT 



CHAPTER XXL 



NEW YORK. 



them 
object 



lOTWITHSTANDING the pan. 
mount importance to which New 
York has attained, its early settle- 
ment was not accompanied by such 
striking circumstances as marked 
those of some other colonies. 

About the year 1600, the attention 
of the English and Dutch had been 
directed to the discovery of a northern 
passage to India, which they hoped 
might at once he shorter, and enable 
to"escape the still formidable hostility of Spain. After this 
had been vainly pursued by Frobisher, Davis, Barentz, and 




270 



NEW YORK. 



other navigators, it was resumed by Henry Hudson. Though h 
native of Hi Hand, he was first employed by a company of English 
merchants, when he made the daring effort to cross the poJe itself, 
and penetrated farlher in that direction than any of his predecessors; 
but the icy barriers compelled him to return. He next attempted an 
eastern passage, between Nova Zembia and Spitzbergen, but again 
failed. His patrons in London then lost courage; but he. animated 
by the same ard'-ur, solicited and obtained from the Dutch East India 
Company a small vessel, named the Crescent, to renew his researches. 
After another abortive endeavour at an eastern passage, he appears 
to have finally renounced that object ; and steering toward the west, 
began to explore the American coast, from Newfoundland southwards, 
[t had, indeed, been to a great extent both discovered and settled, yet 
not in such continuity as to preclude the hope of finding a deep bay 
leading to the Pacific, and through it to the East Indies. In the be- 
ginning of July he reached the great bank, and continued his course 
cautiously along the shores of Acadia. In 44° he touched at the 
mouth of a spacious river, which appears to have been the Penobscot, 
where the French were found carrying on a very active trade. In 
passing Cape C\ d, his people landed at several points, and held in- 
tercourse with the natives. They then pursued their course through 
the open sea. till, on the 17th August, they came in sight of a low 
land, and soon afterwards found themselves off the bar of James's 
River, where they understood that the English had formed a settle- 
ment. No openmg having yet occurred, it seemed expedient to re 
turn northward, keeping closer to the coast. They found it running 
north-west, and entered a great bay with rivers, evidentlv that of 
Delaware. The water was so shoaly, however, as to prevent its ex- 
ploration, unless in pinnaces drawing only four or five feet. They 
proceeded therefore to the coast now called New Jersey, and were 
involved in the range of islands running parallel to it. The naviga- 
tion was very dilficult on account of storms and frequent shallows. 
At length Hudson came to a continuous land, good and pleasant, 
rising boldly from the sea, and bounded by high hills. He appeared 
to discover the mouths of three great rivers, which, however, could 
only be different channels, separated by islands, of the great stream 
now bearing his name. Boats were sent to sound the most northern 
of them, which was found to afford a good depth of water. They 
entered it, and were soon visited by large parties of natives in canoes, 
wnen a friendly exchange took place, of tobacco and maize for knives 



DISCOVERIES OF HENRY HUDSON. 27\ 

and beads. Unfortunately, a boat, being sent to examine one of the 
other channels, was assailed by twenty of the savages in two skiffs, 
one of the seamen killed, and two wounded. This unhappy event 
poisoned their future intercourse with the Indians, whose friendly 
professions were henceforth considered as made only with a view to 
betray them. At one place, twenty-eight canoes, full of men, wo- 
men, and children, approached and made overtures for trade ; but 
their intentions being considered evil, they were not allowed to come 
on board. In ascending, the Hudson was found to be a noble stream, 
a mile broad, and bordered by lofty mountains. Seventeen days after 
entering it, the vessel, being embarrassed by shoals, stopped at a point 
where a small city has since been built, bearing the name of the dis- 
coverer. A boat sailed eight or nine leagues higher, somewhat 
above the site of Albany, where it was clear that the ship could not 
proceed farther. In this upper tract, the intercourse with the natives 
was very friendly, and even the suspicions of the crew were lulled. 
One party came on board, who being freely treated with wine and 
aquavitse, became all merry, and one completely tipsy, the effects of 
which caused to his companions the greatest surprise. On the way 
down, they were repeatedly attacked by the large body which in 
ascending had excited their jealousy. On each occasion, a discharge 
of musketry, killing two or three, caused all the rest to take flight. 
On leaving the river, Hudson made directly for Europe, and arrived 
at Dartmouth on the 7th November, 1609. 

He transmitted to the Dutch Company a flattermg report of the 
country which he had discovered, and recommended a settlement. 
They gave him so little encouragement that he was obliged to seek 
employment from the London merchants, by whom he was sent on 
the remarkable voyage which resulted in the exploration of Hudson's 
bay, and in the melancholy event of his own death, through a mu- 
tiny of the crew. 

In virtue of these discoveries the Dutch claimed the country, and 
in 1610 sent out a vessel for traffic. Stations were formed on Man- 
hattan [New York] island, which, in 1613, were claimed by Argall.. 
This authority was merely nominal, and was utterly disregarded by 
the Dutch government. In the following year a fort was built by 
some merchants, and other stations extended as far as the Mohawk. 

In 1620 the Dutch West India Company was incorporated. Their 
privileges included the whole western coast of Africa, as far as the 
Cape, with all the eastern shores of America from Newfoundland to 
18 



272 



NEW YORK. 



the Straits of Magellan. Over this vast territory they had the ex 
elusive right of concinding treaties, carrying on war, and exercising 
all the functions of government. This monstrous grant would in- 
clude, as we have seen, claims of colonies belonging to England, 
France, Spain, and Portugal, and was of course regarded by these 
powers with any other than a favourable eye. All colonies founded 
on it were consequently fiercely disputed and most precariously held. 
The weakness of the Portuguese crown enabled them to grasp large 
portions of its territory in Brazil and on the African coast ; but in 
North America, not venturing to measure their strength with Britain, 
they contented themselves with silently enlarging their stations on 
the Hudson, which the latter showed no disposition to occupy. The 
country was called New Netherlands ; and a cluster of cottages 
where New York now stands, was named New Amsterdam. 

In 1629 the Dutch government attempted to found an extensive 
colony in New Netherlands. It was planned on quite an aristocratic 
basK Though lands were granted to detached settlers, yet opulent 
indivio als were expected to carry out bodies of tenants at their own 
expense — those transporting fifty becoming lords of manors, with the 
absolute property of the lands thus colonized. They might possess 
tracts sixteen miles long, and even employ negro labour if desirable. 
They encountered, however, many difficulties ; and two manors es- 
tablished on Delaware bay were destroyed by Indians. A station 
on the Connecticut was abandoned on account of its proximity to the 
more powerful English one, and Lord Baltimore strenuously advo- 
cated his title to all land extending to the fortieth degree of latitude. 
Besides this, the imprudence of their governor, Kieft, in killing, 
with little provocation, nearly one hundred Indians, involved him in 
a general war with that people, which, lasting two years, effectually 
checked the progress of New Netherlands. 

In 1646, Kieft was recalled, and Peter Stuyvesant, an officer dis- 
tinguished for bravery and honesty, appointed to succeed him. The 
change was highly satisfactory to the people. By wisely adopting a 
humane policy toward the Indians, the new governor obviated all 
difficulty with them ; and also obtained from the company a release 
from the immoderate duties which had hitherto. trammelled commerce. 
He suffered, however, much trouble from the English, who were 
continually extending their frontier on and beyond the Connecticut, 
and set scarcely any limit to their claims. As the settlers greatly 
discouraged all idea of war with so powerful a neighbour, Stuvve- 



CONQUEST OF NEW SWEDEN. 



273 




OU8TAVUS AD0LPHU3. 



^nt was obliged to obtain, by large concessions, a provisional com- 
pact, which, although never ratified in England, obtained for bis 
people some security. Determined, however, to find some exercise 
for his active mind, he resolved to chastise the Swedish colony fo? 
some violent proceedings of the governor. Rising. This settlement 
was much inferior to New Netherlands, and the mother country, 
after the death of Gustavus Adolphus, of Sweden, could afford it but 
little assistance. Having assembled a force of six hundred men, 
Stuyvesant marched into New Sweden, and after a short struggle, 
overthrew the government and incorporated the settlement with his 
own. A few of the inhabitants returned to their native country ; 
the greater part yielded to the mild sway of the conqueror. About 
the same time a little art enabled him to evade the claims of Lord 
Baltimore. 

The company, though they did not grant any political franchises 
to the colonists, took great care to have them well governed, and to 
check those despotic practices in which Stuyvesant, from his military 
habits, was prone to indulge. They prohibited likewise all perse- 
cution, and studied to. make the country a refuge for professors of 
every creed. From France, the Low Countries, the Rhine, Northern 
Germany, Bohemia, the mountains of Piedmont, the suffering pro- 
[estants flocked to this transatlantic asylum. Even the New Eng- 
landers, allured by the fine climate and fertile soil, arrived in great 



274 



NEW YORK. 



numbers, and formed entire villages. It therefore became expedient 
to have a secretary of their nation, and to issue pmclamations in 
French and English, as well as Dutch. To augment the variety, the 
company introduced as many negro slaves as they conveniently 
could. New York became, as Mr. Bancroft terms it, a city of the 
world ; its inhabitants termed themselves a blended community of 
various lineage. Unluckily for the Dutch, the protestants of that age 
carried generally with them an ardent attachment to civil liberty, 
which was pushed to its utmost height by those of New England. 
Their views soon found favour in the eyes even of the Hollanders; 
for, though some of the more opulent were adverse to any very broad 
popular institutions, they could not forbear joining in the objection 
to be taxed without their own consent. Innovations of this nature, il 
appeared, were agreeable neither to tne company nor tne governor. 
The colonists, having sent over a deputation to the former, obtamed 
a few municipal privileges, but none of the rights of a representative 
government. Such was their perseverance, however, that they 
erected one for themselves, by calling two deputies from each vil- 
lage ; and the body thus assembled presented a remonstrance to 
Stuyvesant, claiming that their consent should be necessary to the 
enactment of new laws, and even to the appointment of officers. He 
received this address extremely ill, and bitterly reproached them 
with yielding to the visionary notions of the New Englanders ; 
stating that the laws were good, and would continue to be well exe- 
cuted, but could not be allowed to emanate from the wavering mul- 
titude. He derived his authority only from God and the West India 
Company, who would never become responsible to their own sub- 
jects. The remonstrants were therefore commanded, under a severe 
penalty, immediately to disperse. In this the company firmly sup- 
ported their governor, directing that the people should no longer 
indulge the visionary dream that taxes could be imposed only with 
their own consent. They, however, cherished a deep dissatisfaction, 
which, though it did not break out into open violence, indisposed 
them to make any exertions in support of a government under which 
they enjoyed no rights. This became of serious consequence in the 
crisis that was now approaching. 

Early in 1664, Charles II., by an act of flagrant injustice, ceded 
the territory of New Netherlands to his brother, the Duke of York, 
although Holland and England were then at peace. To make 
good this donation. Sir Robert Nichols was sent out with an expe- 



TAKEN BY THE ENGLISH. 



276 




dition, to be reinforced by a detachment from another colony. He 
cast anchor opposite New Amsterdam, in August, and after landing 
upon Long Island, summoned the city to surrender, under promise 
of respecting the rights and property of the inhabitants, and permit- 
ting the continuance of their ancient laws. The governor, by delay 
and negotiation, attempted to avert the danger ; but as Nichols de- 
clined all discussion, the principal citizens, headed by Winthrop 
from Connecticut, convened in the town-house, and drew up articles 
of surrender corresponding with the demand of the English officer. 
Stuyvesant, however, refused to sign them until the place wa.* 
actually in the enemy's hands. 

The government established by the Duke of York was by no 
means so lenient a& the people had a right to expect. Heavy taxes 
were imposed, and in the War of the League, when Louis XVL and 
Charles IL were arrayed against Holland, the colonists were treated 
with absolute tyranny. Nichols exacted large sums of money by 
first obtaining new patents for the Dutch, and then levying heavy 
fees on them. Subsequently, Lovelace avowed the policy of making 
duties so heavy that the people might have opportunity to think of 
nothing but the means of paying them. Andros behaved with a 
rigor which excited open opposition ; but not withstac ding the nuni- 



276 



NEW YOr.K. 




JAMBS IL 



berJess petitions for redress, received by the duke, he was for a long 
while retained in office, and even applauded for his energy in sup- 
pressing "all mention of asse^nblies.'* At length, however, he was 
recalled ; and, wearied by importunities, James consented to allow the 
colonists representation. 

The accession of James II. was hailed by the colonists with heart- 
felt rejoicings ; but they soon found that their satisfaction had been 
premature. The king was determined to abolish all appearance of 
democracy. The governor was instructed to call no more assemblies, 
but centre the legislative power in his own person. In 1688, An- 
dros arrived from England with authority to unite all the New 
England States and New York under one absolute control — an an- 
nexation peculiarly odious to settlements formed from hostile nations. 
Public feeling became completely alienated from the crown ; so that 



JACOB LEISLER. 



277 



the first rumors of the revolution were received with uncontrollable 
delight. 

Meantime the king sent orders for Nichols to continue for the 
present the administration of affairs. But this officer had previously 
been obliged to depart for England, in Cf'nsequ<'nce of the people's 
opposition. As the appointment was accompanied by the provision, 
"or to such as for the time execute the law," Jacob Leisler, the 
popular leader, applied this to himself, and assumed the gubernato- 
rial office. He held two assemblies, and concluded a treaty with 
New England, agreeing to raise nine hundred men for the mutual 
defence. But though supported by a uiajority, a powerful party dis- 
owned his authority and insulted him in the capital. After much 
difficulty the opposition was put down; but King William took no 
notice of Leisler's pretensions. 

In March, 1691, Colonel Sloughter arrived at New York to take 
charge of affairs. Leisler refused to acknowledge him, pretending 
that the colonel's commission was defective, and that he woula abdi- 
cate only by an order from, the king's own hand. Being unpopular, 
he was compelled, through an insurrection, to tender his resignation. 
Refusing to receive it, the new governor arrested him, and appointed 
a special commission for his trial. He was speedily condemned to 
death, and with Milbourne, his principal adviser, suffered on the 
scaffold. Sh ughler himself died soon after, [August 2, 1691,] and 
was succeeded by Colonel Fletcher. The only important act of 
Sloughter's administration was the renewal of a treaty with the Five 
Nations. 

Fletcher was an able officer; but his domineering temper, a fault 
too common in those days, soon involved him in violent contests with 
the Assembly. A leading object was the establishment of episcopacy, 
which after great exertions was sanctioned by the members, with the 
salvo annexed that the people should choose their own ministers. In 
a violent speech on this occasion, Fletcher so far forgot the dignity 
of his station as to denominate the members ill-tempered, stubborn 
and unmannerly, and even accuse them of attempts to engross the 
entire legislative power. After the failure of his attempt to obtain 
command of the Connecticut militia, he seems to have moderated his 
views, and gave up the fruitless scheme of intimidating the colonial 
assemblies. 

Fletcher was succeeded [1698] by the Earl of Bellamont, whose 
mild government went far toward soothing the jealousies still existinjj 

2 A 



278 



tiKW YORK. 




TRBATY WITH THE FIVE NATIONS 



be,tween the partisans of Leisler and their aristocratic opponents. I' 
was under his administration that the famous Captain Kidd was 
commissioned to suppress piracy, which had increased to an alarm- 
ing extent. This individual betraying his trust, turned pirate him 
self, and after making his name a terror to seamen, was at length 
arrested at Boston, and sent to England for trial. 

Beliamont died in 1701, and was succeeded by Lord Cornbury, a 
degenerate descendant of the Earl of Clarendon. Entirely opposite 
to his predecessor, he showed an eiub ttered enmity to the popular 
party, accompanied by a bigoted attachment to episcopacy, and 
hatred of all other forms of rellgicn. He seconded also the attem^pts 
made by Dudley to subvert the charter of Connecticut. Indulging 
in extravagant habits, he squandered large sums of the public money, 
and contracted debts, the payment of which his official situation en 
abled him to evade. He thus rendered himself odious and con- 
ijemptible to all parties, who united in a firm remonstrance to Queen 
Anne, and induced her to revoke his commission. No longer pro« 
tected by the privileges of office, he was thrown into prison, and ot> 



GOVERNORS HUNTER AND BURNET. 



279 



tained liberation only when the death of his father raised hin* to the 
peerage. 

Lord Lovelace succeeded, who, on his arrival, made a demand, 
destined to cause much dissension, for a permanent salary to the 
governor. Yet his general deportment was popular and satisfactory ; 
but he lived only a few months. The reins were then held for a 
short time by Ingoldsby, who also made himself very acceptable ; and 
in 1710, the office was filled by Sir Robert Hunter, a man of wit and 
talent, by which he had raised himself from a low rank in society. 
He went out, however, strongly imbued with monarchical prin- 
ciples, and determined to resist the claims of the Assembly. In ad- 
vancing the demand for a fixed income, he made use of very offensive 
expressions, insinuating doubts of their right to appropriate the public 
money, and suspicions that it was the government, not the governor, 
whom they disliked. In the council also, the doctrine was advanced, 
that the Assembly existed only "by the mere grace of the crown." 
The latter body strenuously vindicated their rights, and refused to 
grant more than a temporary provision. They remonstrated strongly 
also against the establishment of a court of chancery, suspected to be 
with a view of increasing his emoluments. On this ground there 
seemed great hazard of a collision ; but Hunter, being a sensible 
man, and seeing their very strong determination, deemed it expedient 
to yield ; and, during his latter years, he studied with success to 
maintain harmony among the different branches of the administration. 

He was succeeded by Burnet, a son of the celebrated bishop and 
historian, an accomplished, amiable man. He appears to have zea- 
lously studied the welfare of the colony ; he became very generally 
popular ; and was particularly successful in gaining over the Indian 
tribes. His attetnpt, however, to maintain the obnoxious couit of 
chancery, involved him in violent disputes with the Assembly. On 
the advice of a few patriotic but indiscreet individuals, he adopted 
the injurious measure of prohibiting all commercial intercourse be- 
tween New York and Canada. In 1720 he was removed, though 
compensated with the government of Massachusetts. 

After a short interval, the direction of affairs was assumed in 1732 
by Colonel Cosby, a man of such a violent character as created 
general aversion to him. Strong interest was excited by the trial of 
Zenger, editor of a journal which had attacked his administration ; 
but through the exertions of Hamilton, an eminent advocate, he was 
triumphantly acquitted. Cosby died in 1736, and was followed by 



280 



NEW YORK. 




Clarke, who, having given scarcely more satisfaction, yielded the 
place in 1741 to Clinton, who ruled upwards of ten years with con- 
siderable success and popularity. His successor, Sir Danvers Os- 
borne, suffered severely by the discovery, in 1754, of very arbitrary 
instructions transmitted to him from home. A great ferment was 
thus kindled, but gradually subsided ; and we find the royal autho- 
rity subsequently respected till the time of the Revolution. 

ITHERTO little has been said concerning 
the Indian tribes of this colony. Difficulties 
with the Five Nations and other tribes early- 
occurred. In 1640, Stalen Island was at- 
tacked and New Amsterdam threatened ; 
but peace was at length secured through 
the exertions of Roger Williams. Kieft 
rendered himself infamous for his cruelty 
to the red men, which but for the far different policy of Stuyvesant, 
would have produced serious results. In 1683, Kingston, [then called 
Esopus,] was unexpectedly entered by the Indians, and sixty-five 
persons killed or carried away. This was retaliated by a furce from 
New Amsterdam, who laid waste the Indian villages, and killed a 
number of their warriors. 

But the most terrible calamity which befel the colony while in the 
hands of the English, was the burning of Schenectady. Early in 
1690, several hundred French and Indians marched from Canada, to 
attack this village, which was then a somewhat remote settlement on 
the Mohawk. The weather was so intensely cold, and the road 
through wilds, forests, and mountain districts, so difficult, that only 
three hundred reached the Mohawk, but in so dispirited a condition 
that they resolved to surrender. Arriving at Schenectady about 
midnight, and finding every thing in unconscious security, they 
again changed their design, and resolved to improve so fair an op- 
portunity for massacre. They spread themselves through the vil- 
lage, fired it in different places, and tomahawked all ages, sexes and 
conditions, that fell into their hands. Sixty were killed and thirty 
carried off for torture. Many of those who escaped the massacre, 
froze to death in journeying to other settlements. This was followed 
by various movements against the neighbouring tribes, until the 
treaty of Utrecht, in 1713. 




CHAPTEU XXII. 

W JERSEY. 

'EW JERSEY, beina a branch de- 
tached from the state just named, 
will be considered most advanta- 
geously in connection with that colo- 
ny. When Nichols, in 1664, made 
: the conquest of the united territory, 
ttie tract along the seacoast, from the 
west end of Long Island to the Dela- 
' ware, appeared to him the most fa- 
vourable for settlement. He invited 
thither farmers from New England, who already displayed a migra- 
tory and enterprising character, and going in considerable numbers, 
formed along the shore a range of villages. While Nichols, how- 
ever, was exulting in the success of these efforts, he was struck with 
dismay by a commission being presented to him, in which the Duke 
of York constituted Lords Berkeley and Carteret proprietors of this 

86 2 A 2 281 




282 



NEW JERSEY. 



whole line of coast. It had been granted even before the news 
of the conquest arrived, and it may be presumed that a pecuniary 
consideration was given, though nothing transpired on that subject. 
Chagrined beyond measure, he addressed to the duke a long letter, 
complaining that he had unguardedly parted with the most valuable 
portion of his patent, leaving New York almost without a territory. 
Not choosing to accuse the proprietors of having deceived his grace, 
he throws the blame on a Captain Scot, who he declares was born to 
work mischief. The grantees, it is urged, should be made to accept 
a tract of 100,000 acres on the Delaware, which, by an expenditure 
of £20,000, might yield profit, not to themselves perhaps, but to 
their children's children. The duke, however, honourably deter- 
nined to adhere to his engagement. 

HE proprietors, in order to in- 
vite settlers, granted franchises 
of some importance. One was 
an Assembly, half at least of 
the members of which were to 
be representatives, and without 
whose consent no tax could be 
imposed. The owners reserved 
to themselves the veto and judi- 
cial appointments ; but they per- 
mitted full freedom of religious w^orship. Carteret went out as 
governor, and in compliment to him the colony was called New 
Jersey. The profit of the proprietors was to arise solely from a 
quit-rent of Id. an acre, to be levied only at the end of five years. 
All went on smoothly till that term arrived, when the settlers, being 
called upon for paj^ment, showed very little disposition to comply. 
They urged, that they had purchased their lands from the Indians, 
and it was extremely hard, after advancing a price, to be required to 
give a rent also. Discontents rose so high, that Carteret was obliged 
to leave the colony, and a natural son of his own was elected in his 
room. Soon afterwards, the country was conquered by the Dutch , 
and on its restoration next year, the people peaceably received back 
their old governor, who gratified them by postponing to a later period 
the demand for quit-rents, and by other concessions. The proprie- 
tors, however, were considerably annoyed by the rulers of New York, 
who, claiming rights of jurisdiction and taxation, particularly sought 
to prevent any trade, unless through the medium of their capital. 




QDAKER AND PRESBYTERIAN SETTLERS. 28^ 

James does not seem to have been disposed to sanction any actual 
breach of the original contract ; and Jones, the chief-justice, reported 
on the most essential points in favour of the settlers. The local 
power, however, of the greater colony, wielded by the impetuous 
Andros, was successfully exerted to harass them in various modes. 

EANTLME, as late as 1674, Lord Berke- 
ley, disappointed in the hopes with which 
he had embarked in the undertaking, sold 
half his territory for £1000 to a party of 
Quakers, among whom the chief were 
Byllinge, Fenwick, and William Penn. 
In arranging; with Carteret, who still re- 
tained his share, it was found most convenient to divide the province 
into two pans ; these were caiied iilasi ana vVtJst Jvisey — tu^ lauer 
oeing assigned to the new owners, ibut ine uul^t, wLose concur- 
rence was required in the transaction, took the opportunity of re- 
asserting his dominion over that portion, which was subjected to the 
arbitrary rule and taxation of New York. Jones, however, decided 
that, there having been no reservation of such claims in the original 
grant, they could not be now legally enforced. Hence, in lOSO, the 
province was delivered in full right to the proprietors, whose object 
was to render the place an asylum for the persecuted Quakers, 
a considerable number of whom were soon assembled. It became 
necessary to gratify them by a constitution, based on principles of 
I'herty and even of equality ; and they made pretensions to the 
election of their own governor. 

- " N 1682, Carteret, finding little satis- 

faction in his possession of New Jer- 
sey, sold all his rights to another 
body of twellve Quakers, Penn being 
again one. The new owners, with 
a view to extend their influence, add- 
ed to their number twelve more of 
different professions — the principal 
of whom was the Duke of Perth, a 
nobleman of great power in Scotland 
His object was to offer an asylum to the Presbyterians of that country, 
under the iniquitous persecutions to which they were exposed. 
Hunted like wild beasts from place to place, it was justly thought 
that many would gladly accept a home in the New World. A cou 





284 



NEW JERSEY. 




siderable number were accordingly conveyed thither, and they formed 
a laborious, useful, and respectable class of settlers. 

OTFIING, however, could secure them against 
the determination formed by James to subvert 
»4 the rights of all the colonies, and establish in 
them a completely despotic administration. 
Andros, without any express authority, began to 
exercise both jurisdiction and taxation; and as 
these were strenuously resisted — ^.the juries re- 
fusing to convict under them — complaints were 
sent home of their insubordination. The duke hereupon, forgetting 
?ll his foimer pledges, ordered, in April, 1686, that writs of quo 
war^anfo should be entered against both East and West Jersey, 
" which ought to be more dependent on his majesty." The proprie- 
tors, having in vain attempted to deprecate this measure, at length 
deemed it expedient to surrender their patent, only soliciting a grant 
securing their title to the soil ; but, before the transaction could 
be completed, it was interrupted by the Revolution, which left them 
in the possession of all their claims. They acted on them so feebly 
however, that the country is represented as remaining nearly in a 
state of anarchy till 1702, when they were induced to surrender all 
their political powers to the crown. The two Jerseys were then re 
united, and were governed from that time as a royal colony. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 

ILLIAM PENN was one of the most illustrious 
j characters of modern times. Born to rank and 
distinction, son of an admiral who had attained 
I celebrity under Cromwell by the conquest ol 
I Jamaica, he embraced at college the persecuted 
j cause of the Quakers, and devoted himself to it 
throughout his whole life . Refusing to retract or compromise his 
views, he was expelled from his father's house, becoming amenable 
to all the rigours then enforced against eccentric modes of religious 
worship and teaching. He indulged at first in certain extravagances ; 
but ripening years, combined with extensive study, and travel over a 
^reat part of Europe, enlarged his mind, and while retaining the 
same devoted attachment to what was valuable in his system, he 
purified it from its principal errors. His steady course of Christian 
kindness gained for him the general esteem of the public, and ulii- 




286 



PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 



mateJy lea to a reconciliation with his parent, who bequeathed to him 
(he whole of his property. 

MONG the tenets of this school, which Penn at all 
tinnes advocated with the utmost zeal, was that of 
wv^^ complete liberty in religious opinion and worship. 
7S<?-^ It became, indeed, a leading object of his life to 
render himself a shield not only to his own people, 
but to all who on this ground were exposed to suf- 




fering and persecution. Unable as yet fully to accomplish 
his end in the Old World, he conceived the plan of providing 
for them, in the new continent, an asylum similar to that of their 
pilgrim ancestors. By founding there a state open to the votaries of 
every faith, he might, he hoped, fulfil this benevolent purpose, and 
at the same tii^e .e«cur*> for hir^sel^" a degree o^" iiTiportance and 
wealth. He possessed, in virtue of his father's services, a claim on 
government, estimated at ^16.000 ; but after a long delay, amid the 
exigencies of the court, he could not without difficulty have rendered 
it effective in any shape, except for one favourable circumstance. 
He enjoyed the favour both of Charles II. and James II., and was 
always a welcome guest at Whitehall. This intercourse with princes 
whose character was so unlike his own, excited in that age a feeling 
of surprise which we can scarcely avoid sharing. The most injurious 
surmises arose- — he was represented as a Papist, and even a Jesuit. 
He seems, however, to have clearly proved, that he never concurred 
in any of the illegal measures of those rulers, but employed his in- 
fluence almost solely with the view of obtaining protection for those 
numerous sufferers in whom he took so deep an interest. Had his 
object been money, he must have encountered many obstacles in ob- 
taining it from the dilapidated treasury of Charles. It was much 
easier to get the royal assent respecting a desert region beyond the 
Atlantic, whence no immediate benefit was derived. His petition, 
presented in June, 1680, was referred to the agents of the Duke of 
York and Lord Baltimore, who declared it to be unobjectionable, pro- 
vided the rights of these individuals were preserved inviolate. Penn, 
therefore, submitted the draft of a charter, which, after being revised 
by Chief Justice North and the Bishop of London, was passed under 
the seal-royal. It granted to him the tract in America extending 
northwards from the 40th to the 43d degree of latitude, and five de- 
grees of longitude westward, from a boundary-line drawn twelve 
ni'les from Newcastle on the Delaware. Nearly the same privileges 



FIRST CONSTITUTION. 



287 



were conceded as were formerly granted to Lord Baltimore. The 
proprietor was empowered to dispose of the lands in fee-simple, to 
levy taxes with the consent of the treemen or their delegates, t« 
erect courts of justice, and (what one might scarcely have expected) 
to raise forces for the defence of the province by sea and land. There 
was reserved, however, the sovereignty of the crown, and its claim 
to allegiance ; also an appeal from the courts to the king in council, 
and the right of parliament to levy custom-duties. The acts passed 
by the Assembly and the owner were to be transmitted within five 
years to his majesty, and if considered unconstitutional, might be dis- 
allowed. The Bishop of London stipulated for the reception of 
a preacher, as soon as one should be requested by twenty of the 
settlers. 

^^"^^ NYESTED with these ample powers, 
Penn proceeded to give to the colony 
a constitution, on a very liberal footing. 
A council of seventy-two, elected by 
the body of the people, and having a 
third of their number renewed every 
year, carried on the executive govern- 
ment, in conjunction with the proprie- 
tor, who was allowed three votes. This 
body was divided into four committees,. 
of plantation, trade, justice, and education. They prepared the bills 
and propositions which were submitted to the General Assembly, 
also elected by the people. They were to sit nine days only, during 
eight of which they were to consider the proposals made hy the 
council, and on the ninth to pronounce their decision. This system, 
said to have been copied chiefly from the Oceana of Harrington, was 
not very well fitted for practical purposes, and had not a long dura- 
tion. 

,ENN now circulated widely his proposals 
. through Britain, France, and Germany;, 
the oppressed and impoverished of every 
class being invited to this land of promise. He re- 
commended it not only to those who suffered undei 
religious persecution, but " to industrious labourers 
and handicraftsmen — ingenious spirits low in the 
world — younger brothers of small inheritances, instead of hanging on 
B.s retainers on their elder brother's table and charity — lastly, to men 
19 





288 



PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 




THB TRBATT iiONtJMBUT ON THB 3ITB OP TH3! BLM TBSB, WHERff 
PJDNN'a TRBATT WAS MADB. 



of an universal spirit, who have an eye to the good of posterity." 
The necessary expense of conveyance was stated to be — for an adult, 
£6; a child under twelve, J2 10s.; goods £2 per ton. Those who 
could not afford even this moderate amount, were informed that, on 
engaging with emigrants of property for a service of four years, not 
only would their passage be defrayed, but at the end of the term 
they would receive fifty acres, at 2s. quit-rent. An extent of five 
thousand acres was sold for ^100, with 50s. quit-rent, commencing 
only in 1684. Those who preferred might pay merely a quit-rent 
of Id. an acre, or ^20, 16s. 8c?. Smaller tracts were disposed of at 
corresponding prices. Poor men were allowed fifty acres at ^d. per 
acre. 

lESE advantageous terms, the troubled 
state of Europe, and the high character . 
of the proprietor, caused his proposals 
to be received with general favour. 
An influx into America took place, 
such as had never been equalled since 
the days of the first settlers. Between 
1682 and 1685, there arrived ninety 
sail, conveying an average of eighty 
passengers, in all seventy-two hundred, 
besides one thousand who had landed 
n 1681. They had been sent under his kinsman Markham, to take 




TREATY WITH THE INDIANS. 



289 



posfe<?ssion of the country, and prepare the way for the larger colony. 
He found no difficulty in completing the purchase of an extensive 
tract of land from the Indians, on terms satisfactory to them, yet 
moderate for the buyer. 

— N October, 1682, Penn arrived, with a body of 
two thousand emigrants. After some time 
spent in surveying his new possessions, he, in 
the beginning of 1683, arranged a meeting 
with the native chiefs, under the canopy of a 
spacious elm tree, near the present site of 
Philadelphia. They appeared on the day ap- 
pointed, in their rude attire, and with brandished weapons, beneath 
the shadow of those dense woods which covered what is now the 
district of Kensington. On learning that the English approached, 
they deposited their arms and sat down in groups, each tribe behind 
its own chieftain. Penn then stepping forward, in his usual plain 
dress and unarmed, held forth in his hand the parchment on which 
the treaty was engrossed. In a simple speech, he announced to 
them those principles of equity and amity upon which he desired 
that all their future intercourse should be conducted. He besought 
them to keep this parchment during three generations. The Indians 
replied, in their usual solemn and figurative language, that they 
would live in peace with him and with his children while the sun 
and moon should endure. A friendly display like this is by no 
means unusual in the first opening of intercourse between civilized 
and savage nations ; but seldom, indeed, does it long continue un 
broken, or fail even of being succeeded by an embittered enmity. 
Pennsylvania afforded at least one happy exception. Her founder 
continued with this savage people on terms not only of peace, but of 
intimate union ; he visited them in their villages, he slept in their 
wigwams ; they welcomed him almost as a brother. Forty years 
afterwards they said to the governor. Sir William Keith, as the 
highest possible comphment :— " AVe esteem and love you as if you 
v.ere William Penn himself." What was still more wonderful, the 
colonists, though they had to struggle with many uncongenial spirits 
in their own b6dy, succeeded in maintaining good terms with the na- 
tives ; and for nearly a century, the Indian tomahawk was never 
lifted against a people who would have considered it unlawful to 
''eturn the blow. 




37 



2B 



290 



PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 




INTBRVIS-W BBTWBBN WILLIAM PBNN AND LORD BALTIu'oRB. 



IS next object was to found a capita] 
for his new settlement. He chose a 
site upon a neck of land between the 
Schuylkill and Delaware, in a situa- 
tion which appeared at once agree- 
able and healthy, abounding in water, 
and with convenient river communi- 
cations. He gave to it the name of 
Philadelphia (brotherly love), under 
which it has become one of the most 
flourishing cities in the New World. Combining the taste for neat- 
ness and regularity characteristic of his people, with a love of rural 
nature, he planned a town composed of parallel streets, each a hun- 
dred feet broad, crossed by others also spacious, and some indicating 
by their very names, Vine, Mulberry, Chestnut, that the verdure of 
the country was still to enliven them. The purchasers of five thousand 
acres were to have a house in one of the two principal streets, with 
a garden and orchard ; those of one thousand in the three next ; ««ucb 




CONSEQUENCES OF THE REVOLUTION. 



291 



as were uuder one thousand acres, in the cross streets. In 1684, 
fifty villages, arranged in regular squares, had sprung up, on a 
similar plan, though on a smaller scale. 

In December, 1682, Penn held an interview with Lord Baltimore 
at Maryland, for the purpose of adjusting the dispute concernin^^ 
the boundary line of the new colony. After a tedious session, and a 
still more tedious correspondence, the lower counties of the Delaware, 
comprising the present state of that name, were yielded to Penn, 
while Maryland retained the eastern shore of the bay. 

The second Assembl}'^ of Pennsylvania convened at Philadelphia 
m the spring of 1683. A charter of liberties was proposed by Penn 
and adopted, thus securing to the people all the privileges of a pure 
democracy. In the summer of 1684, the proprietor was obliged to 
return to England, and the government devolved on Thomas Lloyd 
as president, assisted by a council. The members of the latter body 
appear to have disagreed considerably among themselves, but the 
colony enjoyed tranquillity until 1691, when the lower counties 
separated from the main colony. They ever afterward remained 
distinct under the name of Delaware. 

^ ^--^^^p ^ H E Pennsylvanians, who had owed every 
^ thing to James II., did not share the general 
joy at his abdication in 1688. The news 
was unwillingly believed ; and the govern- 
ment, till September, 1789, was still admin- 
istered in his name. This was carefully re- 
ported from New York : while in England, 
charges were brought against the proprietor 
IS adhering to Popery, or at least strongly attached to the exiled 
nouse. William, after some hesitation, deprived him of his patent ; 
and in April, 1693, Benjamin Fletcher, governor of New York, as- 
sumed authority also over Pennsylvania. The Assembly professed 
their willingness to obey, provided they were ruled in the usual 
manner, and by laws founded on letters-patent. But he intimated 
that they were much mistaken ; that the change had been made on 
account of neglects and miscarriages ; and that his majesty's mode 
of governing would be in direct opposition to that of Mr, Penn. It 
was even maintained that all the former laws had been abrogated, 
though a willingness was expressed to re-enact the greater number 
The Assembly, however, insisted on their validity ; and, while 
acknowledging the authority of the king, denied the charge of former 




292 PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 

misgovernment. They resisted also the demands for money ; and 
thus a perpetual strife reigned between them and the governor, who 
declared that nothing would remedy the evil but annexation to New 
York ; and complained that, though his door was never shut, it was 
avoided, as if it had been treason to be seen in his company. 

ENN, meantime, passed through many trials ; and, 
after being repeatedly acquitted, was arraigned on 
fresh charges. However, he was strongly supported 
by Locke, Rochester, and other friends ; and as no- 
thing could be proved against him except a personal 
attachment to King James, without sharing his bigot- 
ry, William, in August, 1694, passed the patent for 
his restoration. As he could not go out in person, Mark ham was 
again appointed deputy. But the Assembly, though pleased to be 
rid of the royal government, did not show any greater deference 
to that of the proprietary. 

N 1699, Penn again visited the colony. His object 
seems to have been to obtain the consent of the people 
to a constitution which, granting them every reasona- 
ble franchise, might preserve to himself the ordinary 
powers of an executive head. After much difficulty 
and opposition, he had the address to carry his point. The original 
frame was surrendered, and a new one formed, based on the more 
common and approved principles of representative government. The 
Assembly, as elsewhere, was to have the power of originating bills ; 
but these were to require the assent of the proprietary. He obtained 
also the important privilege of naming the council, and had thus to 
contend with only one popular body instead of two. 

Penn had come to the colony with the avowed intention of ending 
his days in it ; but he was prevented doing so in consequence of the 
introduction into parliament of a bill for the abolition of all proprie- 
tory governments. The measure was supported even by a consider- 
able body of his own colonists. On reaching England, however, h 
was gratified to find that the project had been renounced and the bill 
withdrawn. He acquired considerable favour with Glueen Anne ; 
but circumstances prevented his return to Pennsylvania. He died in 
1718, leaving the government of the province to his sons, John, 
Thomas, and Richard. At the opening of the Revolutionary War, 
it was one of the principal colonies, and Philadelphia was become 
Ihe metropolis of the British possessions. 







AVANNA-a IN 177 8. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA. 

HE Encrlish were not so eager to settle 
the regions now called Carolina as they 
had been those of Virginia and New 
England. It will be remembered that 
the Spanish claim to that part of the 
Atlantic coast north of Florida was 
still good as far as Albemarle Sound ; 
and the first intruders on its soil had 
learned by fatal experience that his 
Catholic majesty was not disposed to 
permit encroachments on his territory 
without at least an attempt to resist them. If we except a few set- 
lie,rs at Mansemond river, on the borders of Virginia, and some New 

2b 2 293 




294 



THE CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA. 



England emigrants, who had purchased from the Indians a district 
around Cape Fear, no Englishman had, as late as the year 1630, 
made any effort to settle south of Virginia. In that year Sir Robert 
Heath obtained a patent ; but being unable to fulfil the conditims, it 
was declared forfeited. 

The first productive grant of this territory was given by Charles II. 
on the 24th of March, 1663, and included under the name of Caro- 
lina the whole coast from the 36th degree north to the river San Ma- 
theo. Among the patentees were Monk, duke of Albemarle, Lord 
Clarendon, Lord Ashley Cooper, afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury, 
Lord Berkeley, and his brother Sir William, governor of Virginia. 
Drummond, a prudent and popular man, was the first governor. 
Settlements were made at Albemarle and Cape Fear, while the emi- 
grants enjoyed political and personal immunities greater than those 
of the neighbouring colonies. In 1665 a new patent was obtained, 
extending their territory to the Pacific. New privileges were heaped 
upon the settlers ; Lord Shaftesbury, assisted by the celebrated John 
Locke, drew up for them a constitution designed by the authors as a 
monument of legislative wisdom. It provided for two orders of no- 
bility, divided the territory into counties, each containing four hun- 
dred and eighty thousand acres, with one landgrave, or higher noble, 
and two caciques to each county. Lords of manors and freeholders 
were likewise established ; but the tenants could hold no political 
franchise, nor attain to higher rank. The proprietors were to be 
eight in number, possessing the whole judicial power, with the su 
preme direction of all the tribunals. Such a ponderous system of 
barons, caciques, lords, and manors, might have suited the feudal 
ages ; but it was totally unfit for the government of a new colony, 
and, although strenuously supported by the proprietors, never went 
into operation. Until the people should be ripe for its establishment, 
a series of temporary laws was established, more appropriate to the 
condition of the new territory. 

Meanwhile the people, having become dissatisfied with the ad- 
ministrator and collector of the revenue, rose in a body, put him in 
prison, and summoned a parliament of their own. Culpepper, their 
leader, went to England to plead their cause ; but he was there ar- 
rested for high treason, and thrown into prison. Lord Shaftesbury, 
however, procured his acquittal. The proprietors then sent out as 
governor Seth Sothel ; but his administration was so unpopular as to 
lead to deposition by the colonists, and subsequent trial before their 



CHARLESTON FOUNDED. 



295 




THS BABL OF OLABINDON 



Assembly. He was banished for one year, and declared incapable 
of again holding the office of governor in Carolina. 

The settlers now began to pay some attention to the more southern 
provinces. In 1670 they sent out a considerable body of emigrants 
under William Sayle, who was named governor. Dying soon after, 
he was succeeded by Sir John Yeamans, who was subsequently ac- 
cused of sordid proceedings in carrying on what trade the youthful 
colony enjoyed. A season of dissatisfaction seems to have succeeded, 
which was terminated only by the appointment of Governor West, 
a man highly acceptable to the settlers, and who, during an adminis 
tration of eight years, enjoyed almost unbounded popularity. Emi 
grants flocked to the territory, comprising among their number many 
of the valuable mechanics driven from France by the revocation of 
the edict of Nantes. Proposals were soon made for the founding of a 
city. These being favourably received by the people, a site was 
chosen on a high piece of ground above the Ashley river ; but this 
was afterwards changed to another spot, called Oyster Point, at the 
junction of that stream with the Cooper. At the former place Old 
Charleston was founded in 1671, and the new city at the latter in 
1680. 



296 



THE CAR0LINA3 AND GEORGIA. 



CST was succeeded in 1682 by Moreton ,• 
and he, in 1686, by Colleton, brother ta 
one of the proprietors, and endowed with 
the rank of landgrave. Under these men 
the spirit of faction, which had for some 
time slumbered, broke forth with violence; 
and, during several years, disputes of the 
most aggravated nature were carried on 
between the proprietors, the governor, and 
tne colonists. Amia tnis ferment Seth Sothel suddenly made his 
appearance ; and, by the influence of party, found no difficulty m 
gaining the office of his unpopular predecessor, and in calling a par- 
liament which sanctioned all his proceedings. On hearing of this 
affair, the proprietors issued orders for his immediate recall, ap- 
pointing Philip Ludwell as governor, with instructions to examine 
and report as to any real grievances. Locke's constitution, which 
here, as well as in the northern provinces, had given rise to the 
greatest disorder, was abrogated, and quiet in a general degree re- 
stored. But a new source of dissension was found in the numerous 
body of French Protestant refugees, who were regarded by the ori- 
ginal "Church of England" settlers with feelings of nat:onal and 
religious aversion, and refused the rights of citizenship. At such 
treatment they were justly indignant; and disputes rose so high that 
the proprietors sent out one of their own body, John Archdale, a 
Quaker, with full power to investigate and redress grievances. Con- 
ducting himself with great prudence, he succeeded in greatly allay- 
ing the discontent of the Protestant settlers. After remaining a year, 
he left as his successor Joseph Blake, who steadily pursued the same 
system ; so that in a few years parties became reconciled, and the 
French were admitted to all the rights of citizenship. In 1700 Blake 
was succeeded by Moore, who, two years after, planned and con- 
ducted an expedition against St. Augustine, which brought disgrace 
upon himself and a heavy debt on the colorv. In 1706, the Span- 
iards, by way of retaliation, appeared before Charleston, and sum- 
moned it to surrender. Governor Nathaniel Johnson returned an 
indignant defiance. The invaders sent on shore a small party, who 
were immediately cut off. Six small vessels, under Captain Rhett, 
then sailed against their armament, which fled in alarm. An addi- 
tional force, both of ships and troops, was subssquently captured by 
ihe settlers. 




INDIAN WAR. ' 297 

A repose of several years followed this success, which ended by 
a war with the numerous Indian tribes of the vicinity. It broke out 
first with the Tuscaroras. This brave tribe made a furious attack on 
the Roanoke settlers, killing more than one hundred of their number, 
and laying waste part of the villages ; but being met by Captain 
Barnwell, from South Carolina, with nine hundred and sixty men, 
they were totally annihilated as a nation, the remnant soon afterwards 
emigrating to the north, where they joined the Five Nations. 

UT a far more terrible struggle was 
now at hand. Instigated by the 
Spaniards, the Yamassees, Creeks, 
Cherokees, and other tribes between 
Cape Fear and the Gulf of Mexico, 
united in a grand confederacy to ex- 
tirpate the English. They num- 
bered six thousand warriors, but their 
preparations for a general massacre 
were enveloped in profound secrecy. 
On the morning appointed, the work of death commenced in the 
vicinity of Port Royal, where ninety planters perished. Happily 
L vessel lay in the harbour, on which the people crowded, and were 
conveyed to Charleston. The Indians, collecting from all sides, ad- 
vanced upon that town ; two detachments, attempting to stop them, 
were drawn into an anjbuscade, and suffered severely. But Governor 
Craven, having mustered twelve hundred men fit to bear arms, suc- 
ceeded in stopping their progress ; after which, having received a 
reinforcement from North Carolina, he resolved on becoming the 
assailant, and moved against the allied camp. A struggle, long and 
fierce, succeeded. The Indians, having stationed themselves in an 
irregular, tangled spot, admirably adapted to their mode of war%re, 
defended themselves with accustomed bravery. They were now- 
ever, completely defeated, and forced to abandon the colony. This 
war was followed bv a series of internal commotions, which lasted 
several years, and were ended only by the appointment of Sii Francis 
Nicholson governor, under a commission from the king. A great 
object, during his administration, was the suppression of piracy, 
which, for a long period, had prevailed to an alarming extent in the 
Bahama and neighbouring islands. In 1729 the proprietors surren 
"lered their rights to the crown, which gratified the colonists by thfl 
"lutlre remission of their quit-rents. 




298 



THE CAROLINAS ANi> (iE(avv.iA. 




GBNERAL OOLKTHORPE. 



An event took place in 1694, which, though trivial in itself, wa? 
destined to lay the foundation of an important commercial product in 
the southern states. This was the introduction of rice. The cap 
tain of a Madagascar vessel touching at Carolina, presented the go- 
vernor with a bag of this article, which, being distributed among the 
planters, was sown, and throve so remarkably as in a few years to 
become a staple commodity. Negro slavery was about the same time 
introduced. 

N 1728, General Oglethorpe, and other distinguished 
persons of England, presented a plan to government 
for the settlement of the large district between the Sa- 
vannah and Alatamaha rivers, which had hitherto been 
claimed by Florida. This was to liberate from the 
jails all persons confined for debt, or minor offences, and transport 
them to the new territory, where, under the guidance of a committee 
of trustees, they might act as a defence to the more inland provinces. 
The scheme was favourably received, large sums were voted by opu- 
lent individuals for its execution; and in 1732, Oglethorpe, with one 
hundred and sixteen persons, sailed for the new settlement. In South 
Carolina his followers were most enthusiastically received. The 




SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA. 



299 



colony u-as named Georgia, in honour of the reigning king. On 
arriving there, Oglethorpe's first care was to concih'ate the neighbour 
ing Indians belonging to the powerful Creek race. His efforts being 
guided by sincerity and discretion, were crowned with success. The 
Creek king met him at the settlement since called Savannah, attended 
by fifty principal chiefs, and was subsequently induced to visit Eng- 
land, where he held an interview with George I. The colony rapidly 
increased. Augusta was founded on the upper Savannah, in 1734. 
In the same year two parties of emigrants arrived, numbering more 
thaii five hundred. One hundred and fifty Highlanders also joined 
the colony. In 1740, the tiustees reported that 2,500 emi- 
grants had been sent out, at an expense of eighty thousand pounds. 
Among the residents were the celebrated clergymen John and 
Charles Wesley. The colonists complained of labouring unde 
disadvantages. Rum and slaves were both forbidden — a circum- 
stance which caused them to look upon the Carolinas with peculiar 
envy. The lands were divided into small lots of twenty-five acres, 
and granted only on condition of military service, and descending to 
male heirs alone. Religious feuds were added to civil ones. The 
Wesleys were driven from the colony. For a short period Georgia 
appeared on the verge of civil war. 

FFAIRS were rendered still 
farther critical by the Span- 
ish war, which, after nume- 
rous petty aggressions, broke 
out in 1738. Oglethorpe de- 
termined to attack St. Augustine, the 
capital of Florida. Great p'-epai-ations 
were made for this enterprise ; Virginia 
and the Carolinas furnished a reo-iment, 

D 

as well as £ 120,000 currency ; and an 
Indian force undertook to assist. The 
governor, who was thus enabled to make an invasion with two thou- 
sand men, reduced two successive forts; but the castle of St. Augus- 
tine itself was found too strongly fortified to allow a reasonable hop\5 
of reducing it unless by blockade. This he expected to accomplish 
by the aid of a strong flotilla, which came to co-operate with him. 
It proved, however, a very discouraging service for his undisciphned 
warriors; and the Indians, disgusted by an expression which escaped 
him, of horror at their cruelty, went off. The Highlanders, his best 





300 



THE CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA. 




troops, were surprised, and a number cut to pieces ; while the militia 
lost courage, broke the restraints of discipline, and deserted in great 
numbers. It being impossible to prevent the enemy from procuring 
a reinforcement and large supply of provisions, he was obliged to 
raise the siege, and return with his armament seriously shattered, 
and his reputation impaired. 

HE Spaniards, two years after, 
[1742,] attempted to retaliate; 
and Monteano, governor of St. 
Augustine, with thirty-two ves- 
sels and three thousand men, ad- 
vanced to attack Frederica. Ogl'Hhnrpe's 
force was very inadequate, and the aid 
from the north both scanty and very slow in 
arriving ; yet he acted so as completely to 
redeem his military character. By skilfully using all the advantages 
of his situation, he kept the enemy at bay ; then by various strata- 
gems conveyed such an exaggerated idea both of his actual force and 
expected reinforcements, that the Spanish ultimately abandoned the 
enterprise, without having made one serious attack. 

Georgia was thus delivered from foreign dangers; but she con- 
tinued to suffer under her internal evils. The colonists complained 
that absurd regulations debarred them from rendering their produc- 
tions available, and kept them in poverty. Numbers removed to 
South Carolina, where they were free from restraint ; and the Mora- 
vians, being called upon to take arms contrary to their principles, 
departed for Pennsylvania. Great efforts were made, as formerly in 
Virginia, to produce silk, but without any success. In 1752 the 
trustees relinquished their charge. Georgia became a royal colony, 
and the people were left at full liberty to use all the means, good 
and bad, of advancmg themselves; lands were held on any tenure 
that best pleased them ; negroes and rum were imported without 
restriction ; and a free intercourse was opened with the West Indies 




HRAL ■WOLFS. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 




^ ITHERTO we have traced the history of each of the 
English colonies in America separately ; for, although 
occasionally we have seen them forming political 
combinations, yet, until the opening of the Seven 
Years' War, no object had been presented to them 
sufficiently great to cause a combination of their ener- 
gies for its attainment. Such an object now appeared ; and from 
1754, the year in which the French War commenced, the general' 

2 301 



B02 



THE SEVEN TEARS' WAK. 



zation of our colonial history is the natural consequence of the pro- 
gress of events. 

The claim of France to the river St. Lawrence and the adjoining 
country, was founded on the early visits of Cartier. Settlement was 
first attempted by De la Roche, a Briton, who obtained from Henry IV. 
a patent of similarly extensive powers to those granted in England 
to Gilbert and Raleigh. "New France" was found to open into 
regions of vast extent; and though not of so luxurious an aspect as 
Virginia, yet affording great advantages to an enterprising nation, 
both by a lucrative fur trade, and valuable coast fisheries. R che'j» 
experiment proved, however, a failure ; and De Monts, who made a 
similar one, was equally unsuccessful. 

The career of enterprise was next undertaken by Samuel Cham 
plain, who became the father of New France, or Canada. After 
f?xploring the country, he built and fortified Quebec, allying himself 
with two powerful Indian tribes, the Hurons and Algonquins. This, 
however, involved him in war with the Iroquois, who were friendly 
to the English ; and thus, at the outset, the new colony became in- 
volved in cruel and unsatisfactory wars. Champlain's charter was 
soon after abrogated, and another substituted, whose object was to 
convert New France into a colony of the first magnitude. This ex- 
cited the jealousy of the English, who drove their rivals out of Aca- 
dia, and captured Quebec; but in 1632 both were restored to France 
by conventional agreement. Thirty years of prosperity succeeded, 
during which the settlers obtained from the Indians rumours of a 
mighty river to the west, larger than the St. Lawrence, and empty- 
ing into some unknown ocepn. Supposing this to be the long-sought 
stream opening the way to the golden regions of China and India, 
Talon, the governor at that time, used every exertion to discover it. 
Two of the colonists, Jnliet and Marquette, sailed in two little Indian 
barks, holding each three men, to explore the mysterious regions. 
Sailing onward, they ascertained that the river emptied into the Gulf 
of Mexico, when, fearful of falling into Spanish hands, they returned. 
In 1699, DTberville founded Louisiana. New Orleans was settled in 
1717; and, in 1730, assumed so promising an aspect, that other set- 
tlements were extended up the Mississippi. Then it was that having 
control of the northern lakes, and the mouth of the Mississippi in the 
suuth, with considerable military strength in Quebec, Montreal, and 
other settlements, the French first conceived the grand scheme of 
extending a line of military posts along the Ohio and Mississippi 



FRENCH AND ENGLISH CLAIMS. 



303 



from Canada to Louisiana, thus restricting the English colonies to 
the territory e^-A of the Alleghanies. As a commencement, they 
built Fort. Duq-iesne, (named after the governor of Canada,) at the con- 
fluence of the MonongaheJa and Alleghany rivers, and commanding 
th»' communication from Montreal to New Orleans. 

It vwll be remembered that the English king's charter had granted 
the land extending to the Pacific. The French settlements were, 
therefore, considered as encroachments, which the Atlantic colonists 
determined to resist. The territory around Fort Duquesne was 
claimed by a British society called the London Company, three ot 
whose servants were taken by the French, and sent to a second fort 
on Presque Isle. Soon after the French built two other forts, thus 
'*'>^tpleting the contemplated chain of fortresses. 

HESE proceedings were considered 
by Lieutenant-Governor Dinwid- 
dle, of Virginia, as so many acts 
of aggression. Accordingly, 
with the approbation of the As- 
l/'MW sembly, he despatched Major 
iV, V George Washington with a let- 
ter to the commandant of Fort 
Duquesne, ordering him to eva- 
cuate. In this expedition Wash- 
ington suffered many hardships, 
and on one or two occasions 
came very near losing his life 
Dinvvnddie's request was re- 
fused. 

Resolving to expel the aggressors by force, the Assembly raised a 
regiment, and placed it under the command of Washington. After 
defeating a body of the Indians at the Great Meadows, he encountered 
a strong force under De Villiers. Hastily retreating, he threw up 
Fort Necessity, at the Meadows, where he was attacked, July 4th, 
1754. After fighting all day against five times his numbers, he 
capitulated on honourable terms, and was allowed to return to Vir- 
ginia. On the same day, a convention of delegates at Albany, after 
having effected a treaty with the Five Nations, reported a plan of 
coloTiial union, to be governed by a general assembly of dele-gates, 
with a governor appointed by the crown. It was disapproved, how 
ever, by England and Massachusetts, and did not go into effect. A 
20 




804 



THE SEVEN years' WAR. 




"WiSHlMGTON'S INTBBVIB-W "WITH ST. PIBRRB. 



plan was finally adopted to carry on the war by Brilisli troops, aidet 
by such soldiers as the colonists could raise. 

Early in 1755, General Braddock arrived in Virfrinia with two re- 
giments, designed as an expedition against Fort Duquesne. At hi? 
request a convention of the colonial governors assembled in Virg-inia 
and resolved on three expeditions — one against Fort Duquesne; the 
second, under Governor Shirley, ao^inst Niagara ; and the third 
ao-ainst CroAvn Point. While this session was being held, three 
thousand militia of Massachusetts invaded Nova Scotia, captured the 
military posts, and drove off the inhabitants. 

Late in June, General Braddock, Avifh tAvelve hundred picked 
troops, and ten pieces of artillery, marched for the Alleghany. With 
the most culpable prde, he rejected the representations of Washing- 
ton and other provincial officers to scour the woods in advance ; and 
thus, while marching in the European fashion, he permitted himself 
to be drawn into a narrow defile on the Monongahela, seven miles 
from the fort. Here, on the 8th of July, he was attacked by an 
unseen enemy securely posted amid the deep forests on each side. 
His men fought with stern, but useless bravery. Whole platoons 
sunk before t^^e Indian rifle, while not a foe was in view: Braddor 1? 



BRADDOCK S DEFEAT. 



30t 



was mortally wounded ; every officer, except Washington, carried 
from the field; and rout, despair, and uproar, took the place of dis- 
cipline. The provincials under Washington alone remained firm ; 
and to their praiseworthy efforts while covering the retreat and beat- 
ing back the shouting foe, was owing the salvation of that wretched 
remnant. Seven hundred British, besides provincials, were killed 
and wounded — and sixty-four out of eighty-five officers. The whole 
army, including a reserve of eight hundred under General Dunbar, 
fled in disgraceful hurry to Philadelphia, leaving the frontier ex- 
posed to the incursions of the vinaictivp foe. The victors in this 
battle are supposed to have numbered nw hundred. Shirley's ex- 
pedition against Niagara was also a complete failure. 

At Crown Point a large party of General Johnson's troops was 
totally defeated by the Baron Dieskau, who subsequently made an 
attack upon the English camp. In this he was mortally wounded 
and captured, one thousand of his men killed or wounded, and his 
army driven away. After this success Johnson might have advanced 
with flattering prospects of success against Ticonderoga; but he spent 
the remainder of the campaign in idleness. 

In the following spring, war was declared between France and Engf 
land. The plan for this year's campaign was similar to that of 1755. 
Crown Point was to be attacked by ten thousand men, Niagara by 
six thousand, Duquesne by three thousand. While deliberations 
were going on as to which should be attacked first, Montcalm, sue 
cessor to Dieskau, invested Oswego, stormed and took the works, 
made the whole garrison prisoners, and razed the fortifications to the 
ground. At this daring exploit the British were conf^Dunded, their 
grand schemes broken up, and the whole fall and summer spent in 
doing nothing. 

At the close of the year a strong reinforcement of British troops 
arrived under Lord Loudoun ; and the campaign of 1757 opened with 
high hopes of success. Loudoun's design was to improve on the 
errors of his predecessors, and make but one grand attack, of which 
Louisburg was the object. He sailed there with a great army, and 
finding the works stronger than had been expected, returned to New 
York. About the same time Montcalm descended from Canada to 
the works on Lake George, and captured Fort William Henry, one 
of the main dependencies of the English. While the garrison was 
marching out, a furious attack was made upon them by the hostile 
[ndians, and no less than fifteen hundred men, women, and children, 

39 2c2 



306 




MA.S3ACRE AT FOBT "W I L L I A. M HENRT 



massacred. Whether Montcalm could have prevented this butchery 
or not, is unknown ; but it has left an indelible stain upon his me- 
mory. This event dissipated the shadowy achievements which were 
to have been accomplished that year, and left the French complete 
masters of all the territory claimed by them at the beginning of 
\he war. 

This course of folly and imbecility was about drawing to a close. 
The king, compelled by popular indignation, appointed a new min- 
istry, of whom the master spirit was William Pitt, afterwards Lord 
Chatham. He was probably the greatest war minister ever Eng- 
land produced. He was so popular in America, that in answer to a 
requisition for troops, three colonies raised in a little while fifteen 
thousand troops. At the opening of the campaign of 1758, General 
Abercrombie, successor to Loudoun, found himself at the head of fifty 
thousand men. Part v/as to reduce Louisbourg ; part, Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point, and the remainder Fort Duquesne. 

The first expedition numbered fourteen thousand men under Gene- 
ral Amherst, and reached Louisbourg, June 2. The French garrison 
numbered three thousand men, under the Chevalier Drucourt. The 
siege was prosecuted with vigour for three weeks, when the town 
surrendered. 

Abercrombie mustered his forces at Albany, and embarked on 
ake Georcre with fifteen thousand men and a formidable train of 



ABANDONMENT OF FORT DUQUESNE. 



307 




ABEBCROMBIE CROSSING LAKS G S O R G K 

artillery. On laying siege to Ticonderoga he led his troops upon a 
breastwork of trees, where, becoming entangled, they were fired 
upon by a perfectly secure enemy until two thousand of their num* 
ber were killed or wounded. The designs upon the fort and Crown 
Point were then abandoned ; but a detachment was sent against Fort 
Frontignac, which, being abandoned by the greater part of its gar- 
rison, surrendered. Circumstances gave to this last feat more im- 
portance than it could ever have acquired on the basis of military 
merit. It had hitherto formed the depot of Fort Duquesne, which, 
Oeing now cut off from provisions, was abandoned by its garrison, 
who descended the Ohio in boats. At this unexpected turn of for- 
tune, General Forbes, leader of the third expedition — who had been 
from July to November marching from Fort Cumberland, Va., to the 
Laurel Hills, sometimes at the rate of a mile a day — pushed rapidly 
forward, and [November 25] entered the abandoned works without 
resistance. The name was changed to Pittsburg. General Forbes 
died during his return to Philadelphia. 

In the following year Pitt determined to attempt the conquest of 
Canada. The main attack was to be conducted by General Wolfe, 
a young officer who had distinguished himself before Louisbourg 
General Amherst, who succeeded Abercrombie, after reducing Ticon- 
deroga and Crown Point, was to join Wolfe at Quebec. Niagam 



308 



THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 




BOINS OF TICONDBROGA. 



was to be reduced by General Prideaux. Ticonderoga was aban- 
doned by its garrison on the appearance of the English army. I'he 
same thing happened at Crown Point. Fort Niagara was besieged 
by. General Prideaux on the 6th July; but he being killed, the com 
mand devolved on Sir William Johnson, who gained a battle over the 
garrison in an open field chosen by themselves. After xhis they r<?- 
tired to their works, and on the 25th capitulated. 

Meanwhile Wolfe embarked at Louisbourg with eight thousand 
men, and landing before Quebec offered General Montcalm battle. 
It was accepted, and the English were defeated. Not discouraged, 
Wolfe landed his men [September 3^ at Point Levi, and determined 
to scale the heights of Abraham, hitherto considered inaccessible. 
On the following morning the astonished Montcalm beheld his enemy 
drawn up in battle array on the mountain. But with the courage 
of a noble nature, he determined to march out and give battle. The 
disposition of the armies was masterly, and the action worthy of the 
two greatest generals in America. At its commencement, Wolfe was 



QUEBEC TAKEN BY THE ENGLISH. 



309 




DEATH OF GENERAL -WOLFE 



wounded in the wrist, and nr,t long afterwards in the body; but he 
still cheered on his men until a third ball pierced his breast, and he 
was conveyed to the rear. Monckton, second in command, also fell. 
About this time the French centre was broken ; and the Highlanders, 
rushing forward whh drawn swords, completed the rout. When in 
the agonies of death Wolfe was told that the enemy were flying, he 
exclaimed — "I die content." Some time after, his gallant antagonist, 
Montcalm, also mortally wounded, expired, expressing his satisfaction 
that he " would not live to see the surrender of Quebec." The city 
immediately capitulated. Next year Montreal was taken, with all its 
dependencies; and henceforth Canada was a British province. This 
victory closed the war in America. The treaty of February 10, 1763, 
secured to the colonies and mother country all they had claimed be- 
fore the war, together with the entire French possessions in the 
now United States, except Louisiana. 



SAMUEL ADA.i£&. 



CHAPTER XXYI. 



COMMENCEMENT OF THE REVOLUTION. 




jHEN the Seven Years' War had closed, the peop.e 
of the American colonies of Great Britain were fuil 
of loyalty and attachment to the mother country. 
But these dispositions were speedily changed by the 
ill-judged measures of the British ministry. Plan? 
for taxing the colonies had been successively proposed to Walpok 
and Pitt ; but those wary ministers dechned the experiment. Gren- 
ville was bolder, and after causing duties to be imposed on several arti 
cles of import, succeeded in carrying the famous Stamp Act in 
March, 1765. This act, which imposed a tax on the paper used foi 
notes of hand, bills of exchange, and other documents used in the 
ordinary transactions of business, was regarded by the colonies as 
unreasonable and tyrannical. It was received with a burst of indig 
uation throughout the country. The colonial Assemblies generally 

310 



THE STAMP ACT. 311 




ST A.MP A.CT BIOT 

pressed resolutions denouncing the act in strong terms. A congress 
of deputies, summoned by a resolution of the Massachusetts Assem 
bly, met in New York, Octob.-'r, 1765, to consult on the grievances 
under which the colonies laboured, in consequence of the late enact- 
ments of the British Parliament. All the colonies except New 
Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, were repre- 
sented. A declaration of rights and grievances, a petition to the 
king, and a memorial to each house of parliament, firmly remon- 
strating against the oppressive acts of parliament, and earnestly en- 
treating a redress of grievances, were voted, and the congress dis- 
solved on the 25th of October. 

The storm of popular indignation, however, still continued, and 
serious riots ensued in Boston and in other parts of the country, 
where the Stamp Act was attempted to be enforced by the officers 
ot government. Resolutions and combinations against the importa- 
tion and use of British manufactures followed these popular demon- 
strations. 

Meantime Dr. Franklin, and the other American agents in Lon- 
don, aided by the Prime Minister Conway and William Pitt, were 
earnestly endeavouring to obtain a repeal of the Stamp Act. 



31*J COMMENCEMENT OF THE REVOLUTION. 




aECEPTION OF THE NEWS OF THE REPEAL- OF THE STAMP ACT. 

To the furtherance of this measure, the ministers first introduced 
what they called the DecJaralory Act. It pronounced that the king 
and parliament had a right to make laws to bind the colonies and 
people of America, subjects of the crown of Great Britain, in all 
cases whatsoever. As soon as this bill was passed, that for the 
repeal of the stamp act was introduced. After violent and protracted 
debates, in which Pitt participated, although he was dangerously 
sick, the bill at length passed the House of Commons, by a vote of 
276 to 167 ; and notwithstanding a still more violent opposition, and 
the entry of two protests, its friends succeeded in getting it through 
the House of Lords. After receiving the king's approval, i. became 
a law, March 19, 1766. 

The passage of this bill was received with the liveliest demon- 
strations of joy by the inhabitants of London, where the church-bells 
were rung and the houses illuminated. In America, where the 
people could not even hope for such an event, the intelligence pro- 
duced a transport of surprise, exultation, and gratitude. Thanks 
were voted by the legislatures to Lord Camden, Pitt, and others, who 
had befriended the colonial interests. 

The burst of good feeling which followed this conciliatory measure 
was somewhat allayed by the declaratory act, in which the right of 
taxation was still asserted ; and new acts of oppression soon re- 
awakened discontent. Indemnity for damage done by the riots was 
demanded ; troops were ordered to be quartered on the citizens ; 
an act imposing duties on glass, paper, pasteboard, white and red 
lead, painters* colours, and tea, was passed, (June 29, 1767,) and 
new regulations for collecting the revenue were rigorously enforced. 
A-ltercations between the colonial Assemblies and the royal governorj 



THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 




JOHN HANCOCK. 



tollowed these measures of Townshend, the minister, who died m 
1767, and was succeeded by Lord North. 

The seizure at Boston of the sloop Liberty, owned by the populai 
merchant, John Hancock, led to a serious riot; and the quartering of 
troops, (November 10, 17^57,) in the representatives' chamber, the 
court-house, and that cradle of liberty, Faneuil Hall, was regarded 
as the most terrible outrage which the citizens had ever endured. 

Non-importation agreements were entered into by nearly all the 
colonies, on the one hand, and a proposition for trying American 
offenderb iu England, was t-ntertained on the other; while the alter- 
cations between the royal ijMvernors and the colonial Assemblies were 
vigorously kept up. In Boston, the presence of the British troop* 
was a perpetual source of irritation. On the 5th of March, 1770, a 
collision took place in Kmg street now called State street, between 
the soldiers and citizens. The soldiers, being pelted with snow- 
balls and pieces of ice, called for the protection of a guard. Captain 
Preston's company, then on guard, came to their relief. A charge 
was ordered without effect. The mob dared the soldiers to fire, and 
on one of their number being actually felled with a club, they fired. 
Three men were killed, and several others wounded, of whom one 
afiervn ards died. 

40 'iD 



311 



COMMENCEMENT OF THE REVOLUTION. 




FAKSUIL HALL. 



These martj^rs to the cafise of liberty were buried with great 
pomp, and the Boston massacre was annuallj^ commemorated lono 
after by a grand assemblage and the delivery of an exciting oration. 
The officer and soldiers, who had caused the death of the citizens, 
were defended on their trial by John Adams and Josiah Quincy. 
The captain and six men were acquitted, and two men were found 
guilty of 1 lanslaughter. 

In Rhode Island, the destruction of the British armed schooner 
Gaspee, in consequence of her firing on a merchantman, was one of 
the bold acts which mark the spirit of the time. A reward of £500, 
together with a pardon to the informer, failed to shake the fidelity of 
any of the numerous party concerned in this affair. 

The determination of the colonists to resist the introduction of tea 
sent out by the East India Company, led to the most serious riots. 
The permission to the company to export this article free of duty 
made it cheaper to the American consumer than before it had been 



THE TEA RIOTS. 



315 




BOSTON MASSACRE. 



made a source of revenue, so that in this instance the resistance was 
made to the principle of taxation. Cargoes were sent to New York, 
Philadelphia, Charleston, (South Carolina,) and Boston. The inha- 
bitants of the cities of New York and Philadelphia sent the ships back 
to London, "and they sailed up the Thames to proclaim to all the 
nation, that New York and Pennsylvania would not be enslaved." 
The inhabitants of Charleston unloaded the tea and stored it in damp 
cellars, where it could not be used, and where it finally was all 
spoiled. The inhabitants of Boston tried every measure to send 
back the three tea ships which had arrived there, but without suc- 
cess. The agents of the company would not release the captains 
from their obligations ; the custom-house officers refused them clear- 
ances, and the governor would not allow them to pass Castle William. 

The vessels containing the tea lay for some days in the harbour, 
watched by a strong guard of citizens, who, from a numerous town- 
meeting, despatched the most peremptory commands to the ship- 
masters not to land their cargoes. At length, the popular rage 
could be restrained no longer, and the consignees, apprehending 
violence, took refuge in Castle William, while, on the 16th of De 
cember, an assemblage of men, dressed and painted like Mohawk 
Indians, boarded the vessels, and threw the tea into the dock. In 
the space of about two hours, the contents of three hundred ar.d 
^orty-two chests of tea, valued at £18,000 sterling, were thus de- 
stroyed. 

This act led to the passage of the Boston Port Bill, (31st March, 



316 COMMENCEMENT OF THE REVOLUTION. 




DSSTRTJOTION OF THB TBA.IN BOSTON HARBOUR. 



1774,) prohibiting the lading or unlading of goods and merchandize 
at Boston after the 1st day of June, until the return of obedience and 
the indemnification of the East India Company for the tea destroyed. 
To enforce the enactments of this bill, four ships of war were ordered 
to sail for the proscribed town. General Gage, commander-in-chief 
in America, was appointed Governor of Massachusetts Bay, in the 
room of Mr. Hutchinson ; and he was authorized to remit forfeitures 
and grant pardons. He arrived on the 13th of May. 

The effect of this stringent proceeding was exactly the reverse of 
what had been anticipated by the British ministry. Instead ot 
dividing and intimidating the colonies, it united and emboldened 
them. 

The necessity of a general congress was soon universally perceived^ 
and the measure was gradually adopted by every colony, from New 
Hampshire to South Carolina. On the 4th of September, delegates 
from eleven colonies appeared at Philadelphia ; and, the next day, 
the first continental congress was organized at Carpenter's Hall, in 
Chestnut sireot. On the 14th, members from North Carolina ar 
rived, making t7/elve colonies that were represented. It was resolved 
that each colony should have one vote, whatever might be the num 
ber of its representatives. They made a declaration of rights ; re- 
solved on an address to the king, a memorial to the people of Britic b 



THE MINUTE MEN. 



317 




oarpkntb; r's hall. 



America, and an address to the people of Great Britain. These 
papers had a great effect both in America and England. They in 
spired the people with confidence in their delegates ; and their 
decency, firmness, and wisdom, caused a universal feeling of respect 
for the congress. 

General Gage, in the mean time, was evidently anticipating a re 
sort to arms. He seized all the deposits of powder and provision 
which he could reach in the neighbourhood of Boston, and began to 
fortify the Neck, which unites it to Roxbury. The representatives 
of the people of Massachusetts assembled in convention ; remonstrated 
against these proceedings; appointed a committee to prepare a plan 
for the immediate defence of the province ; gave orders for the en 
listment of a number of the inhabitants to be in readiness, at a 
minute's warning, to appear in arms, and elected three general 
officers, Preble, Ward, and Pomeroy, to command these minute-men. 
At a subsequent session, in November, they took measures for arm- 
ing the militia, and appointed two more officers, Prescottand Heath. 
They also secured the co-operation of New Hampshire, Rhode 
Island, and Connecticut, in raising an army of twenty thousand men. 

2d2 



318 



CO?:iMENCEMEXT OP THE REVOLUTION. 



fn I'hode Island and New Hampshire, the ordnance and ammunition 
wert' secured for the use of the people. 

The British ministry, when apprised of these acts, disregarded the 
attempts of Chatham and Burke to have the grievances of the colo- 
nist? removed, declared Massachusetts in a state of rebellion, and 
caused a bill to be passed restricting the colonial commerce and fish- 
eries, while John Hancock and Samuel Adams, and a band of other 
leading spirits, were stimulating the colonies to the most determined 
resistance. Oppression and menaces of force on the one hand, and 
discontent and a determination to be free, or die in the cause ct free- 
dom, on the other, were now speedily bringing affairs to a rnsis. 




"BBITigH NAVAL COSTITMB, 1?76 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



FIRST HOSTILITIES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 

HE first serious collision between the colo- 
nists and the British troops ar ;se from an 
expedition sent out from Boston by Gene- 
ral Gage, to destroy some military stores 
deposited at Concord. For the execution 
of this design, he, on the night preceding 
the 19th of April, detached Lieutenant- 
CoJonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, with 
eight hundred grenadiers and light infantry, who, at eleven o'clock, 
embarked in boats at the bottom of Boston Common, crossed Charles 
river, and having landed at Phipp's farm, in Cambridge, commenced 
a silent and expeditious march for Concord. Although measures 
had been taken to intercept any expresses that might be sent from 
Boston to alarm the country, yet some messengers from Dr. Warren 
eluded the British patrols, and gave the alarm, which was rapidly 
spread by church-bells, signal-guns, and volleys. Cn the arrival of 

21 819 




'6'20 FIRST HOSTII.ITIES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY AVAR. 




AFFAIR AT LEXIN3T0N. 

the British troops at Lexington, six miles below Concord, they found 
about seventy men, belonrring to the minute company of that town, 
on the parade, under arms. Major Pitcairn, who led the van, gal- 
loping up to them, called out, "Disperse, disperse, you rebels! 
throw dow^n your arms, and disperse!" The sturdy yeomanry not 
instantly obeying his order, he advanced nearer, fired his pistol, 
flourished his sword, and ordered his soldiers to fire. The troops 
cheered, and inmiedrately fired ; several of the provincials fell, and 
the rest dispersed. The British continuing to discharge their mus- 
kets after the dispersion, a part of the fugitives stopped, and returned 
the fire. Eight Americans were killed, three or four of them by the 
first discharge of the British, the rest after they had left the parade. 
Several were also wounded. 

The British now pressed forward to Concord, and destroyed the 
stores ; but in their retreat they encountered the exasperated people 
who had risen in a mass. A severe conflict took place at Concori 
bridge. Their retreat towards Lexington was harassed by a gallini 
nre from behind stone walls, trees, hillocks, and hedges. The pro- 
•/ ncial soidiej-s were excellent marksmen, and the'r superior know- 



BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 



321 





ledge of the country enabled them to head off the British troops at 
every turn of the road. Thus harassed, they reached Lexington, 
where they were joined by Lord Percy, who, most opportunely for 
them, had arrived with nine hundred men, and two pieces of cannon. 
The enemy, now amounting to about eighteen hundred men, having 
halted an hour or two at Lexington, recommenced their march ; but 
the attack from the provincials was simultaneously renewed, and an 
irregular yet very galling fire was kept up on each flank, as well as 
on the front and rear. The close firing threw the British into 
great confusion; but they kept up a retreating fire on the militia and 
minute-men. A little after sunset, the regulars reached Bunker's 
Hill, where, exhausted with excessive fatigue, they remained during 
the night, under the protection of the Somerset man-of-war, a\>d the 
next morning went into Boston. If the Salem and Marblehead legi- 
ments had arrived in season to cut off their retreat, in all probability 
but few of the detachment would ever have reached Boston. Of the 
Americans engaged throughout the day, fifty were killed and thirty- 
tour wounded. The British loss was sixty-five killed, one hundred 
and eighty wounded, and twenty-eight prisoners. To their wounded 
prisoners the Americans behaved with the utmost tenderness and 
humanity, and apprised Gage that he was at liberty to send the sur- 
geons of his own army to minister to them. 

41 



322 FIRST HOSTILITIES OF THE KEVOLUTIONARY WAR. 




OOIiONai. ALLHN A P T XJ R I N O TIOONDEROQA 



The affair of Lexington was the signal for war. The provincial 
congress of Massachusetts met the next day after the battle, and de- 
termined the number of men to be raised ; fixed on the payment of 
the troops; voted an issue of paper money; drew up rules and regu- 
.ations for an army; and all was done in a business-Hke manner. 

The news of the battle caused a rush of volunteers towards the 
scene of action from the surrounding colonies ; and twenty thou- 
sand men were soon assembled, forming a line of encampment from 
Roxbury to the river Mystic, holding the British army, under Gene- 
ral Gage, besieged in Boston. 

In Connecticut an expedition was set on foot for surprising the 
fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Forty volunteers pro- 
ceeded to Castleton, where they met Colonel Ethan Allen with two 
hundred and thirty men. 

Here they were all unexpectedly joined by Colonel Benedict Ar- 
nold, who meditated a similar project. He was admitted to act as 
auxiliary to Allen, who held the chief command. They proceeded 
on their expedition, and arrived on the night of the 9th of May on 
the shore of Lake Champlain, opposite to Ticonderoga. Allen and 
Arnold crossed with eighty-three men, and the two colonels entered 
^hf fort abr<»ast, at break of day. All the garrison were asleep, ex- 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 



323 



cept one sentinel, whose piece missing fire, he attempted to escape 
into the fort ; but the Americans rushed after him, and forming them- 
selves into a hollow square, gave three loud huzzas, which instantly 
aroused the garrison. Some skirmishing with swords and bayonets 
ensued. De la Place, the commander, was required to surrender 
the fort. "Ey what authority?" he asked, with no unnatural sur- 
prise. " I demand it," replied Allen, " in the name of the Great 
Jehovah, and of the Continental Congress !" This extraordinary 
summons was instantly obeyed; and the fort, with its valuable stores 
ftnd forty-nine prisoners, was surrendered without delay. 

Colonel Seth Warner was then despatched to Crown Point ; and 
he took prssession of this place, in which a serjeant and twelve pri- 
vates firmed the whole of the garrison. A British sloop-of-war lying 
off St. Johns, at the northern end of Lake Champlain, was soon after 
captured by Arnold. 

Thus the Americans, without the loss of a single man, acquired, 
by a bold and decisive stroke, two important posts, a great quantity 
of artillery and ammunition, and the command of Lake George and 
Lake Champlain. 

In May, Generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton, arrived at Bos- 
ton, with reinforcements for the besieged garrison. General Gage 
now offered pardon to all who would lay down their arms, except 
Samuel Adams and John Hancock ; and he declared the province 
under martial law. In June, the colonial generals determined to 
occupy Bunker Hill, in Charlestown. On the evening of the 16th 
of June, Colonel Prescott marched from Cambridge for this purpose: 
but, by some mistake, he took ground on Breed's Hill, much nearer 
Boston, and within range of its cannon. By labouring diligently 
through the night, his men succeeded in raising a respectable redoubt, 
which was assailed at break of day by The Lively sloop-of-war, and 
a battery of six guns on Copp's Hill, at the north end of Boston. 
Undismayed by the fire, the provincial soldiers laboured at their in- 
trenchments till the breastwork reached from the redoubt to the bot- 
tom of the hill near the Mystic. New-mown hay and wooden fences 
formed a part of their materials. 

As the secure possession of Breed's Hill would render Boston un- 
tenable, General Gage detached Generals Howe and Pigot, at noon, 
with ten companies of grenadiers, ten of infantry, and some artillery, 
to dislodge the provincials. Landing at Morton's Point, Howe de- 
cided to wait for reinforcements, and at 3 o'clock moved to the 



324 FIRST HOSTILITIES OF THE REVOLUTIOXART WAK. 




attack with three thousand men ; while the town of Charlestown 
being set on fire, added terrific grandeur to the approaching contest 

The Americans, who had been reinforced by a second detachment 
under Generals ^\'arren and Puraeroy, permitted the enemy to ap 
preach, till, according to the characteristic order of Putnam, they 
could see the whiles of their eyes, and then poured in upon the ad- 
vancing columns a tremendous fire of musketry, which prostrated 
whole platoons, and sent the enemy, broken and disordered, back to 
their landing-place. 

By the exertions of the officers, they were again brought to the 
attack. The Americans again reserved their fire until the enemy 
t^'ere within five or six reds, when they gave it with deadly preci- 
iion, and put them a second time to flight. General Chnton now 
arrived from Bjston, and aided Howe m persuading the troops to 
march a third time to the attack. 

But by this time the powder of the Americans began to fail, and 



BATTLE OP BUNKER HILL. 



327 



their fire slackened. The British brought some of their cannon to 
bear, which raked the inside of the breastwork from end to end ; the 
fire from the ships, batteries, and field-artillery, was redoubled ; and 
the redoubt, attacked on three sides at once, was carried at the point 
of the bayonet. The Americans, though a retreat was ordered, de- 
layed, and made an obstinate resistance with the butts of their guns, 
until the assailants, who easily mounted the works, had half-fiiled 
the redoubt. Meanwhile the breastwork had been bra\^ely defended 
against the light-infantry, who were mowed down in ranks by the 
close fire of the Americans ; but the redoubt being lost, the breast- 
work was necessarily abandoned. The troops had now to make 
their way over Charlestown Neck, which was completely raked by 
the Glasgow man-of-war and two floating batteries ; but by the skill 
and address of the officers, and especially of General Putnam, who 
Commanded the rear, the retreat was effected with little loss. Gene- 
ral Warren fell in the battle, fighting like a common soldier. 

The New Hampshire troops, under Stark, Dearborn, and others, 
were in the battle, near the rail-fence. They were marching from 
their native state towards Cambridge, and came upon the battle- 
ground by their own impulses, having received no orders from the 
commander-in-chief. The British had three thousand men, the 
Americans fifteen hundred. The former lost one thousand and fifty- 
four killed and wounded, the latter one hundred and thirty-nine 
killed, and three hundred and fourteen wounded and missing. The 
moral effect of this battle was immense. It had been doubted 
whether the provincials would fight. That question was now defi- 
nitively settled. 

The British held and fortified Breed's Hill. The Americans 
maintained their original lines of investment, and held the enemy as 
closely besieged as before the battle. 

A second continental congress assembled at Philadelphia, on the 
10th of May, under the presidency of Peyton Randolph. They 
voted addresses to the king, the people of Canada, and the Assembly 
of Jamaica; they resolved that twenty thousand men should be raised 
and equipped for the common defence ; and they chose George 
Washington for commander-in-chief. All this was done, and bills 
of credit emitted in the name of the twelve united colonies. The 
Revolution was thus formally organized. Georgia soon after sent in 
her delegates, and the thirteen colonies were indissolubly united. 

The battle of Bunker Hill (so culled, although fought on Bre':?d's 



328 FIRST HOSTILITIES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 




HilJ) was followed by active hostilities at sea. Privateers and ves- 
sels fitted out by Massachusetts and other colonies captured many 
merchantmen and transports, — aggressions which were retaliated by 
the burning of Falmouth, and the sacking of other defenceless towns 
on the co;ist. 

General Washington joined the army at Cambridge on the 2d of 
July. He found fifteen thousand men encamped around Boston, ili- 
armed, undisciplined, and disorderly. They were deficient in gun- 
powder ; but the garrison of ten thousand men in Boston were welJ 
supplied with munitions of war. The terms of enlistment of many 
expired during the siege, and their numbers were at one time 
less than those of the British army. Active operations seemed im- 
practicable ; but on the 2d of March, 1776, and on the succeeding 
nights, a heavy bombardment was kept up on the British lines ; and 
on the 4th, General Thomas, with a strong detachment, took posses- 
sion of Dorchester Heights, and with the aid of fascines provided by 
General Ward, they succeeded in erecting works during the oighl 



EVACUATION OF BOSTON. '6*29 




OSNEBAL WARD. 



3ufficieni for their defence. Howe was astonished when hi saw these 
works, and he determined to dislodge the Americans. A detach 
ment of about two thousand troops fell down to the castle in tran- 
sports ; but a furious storm scattered them, and they were unable to 
proceed to the scene of action. The works were soon rendered 
nearly impracticable; and a council of war, held by the British, 
decided to evacuate the town as soon as possible. A fortnight 
afterwards the measure was effected; and at ten in the morning of 
the 17th of March, the royal troops and their adherents, who had 
lately held possession of Boston, were sailing away from its shores ; 
and Washington triumphantly entered the city. 

Thus terminated the siege of Boston. The British proceeded to 
alifax, and Washington withdrew his forces to New York, which 
b rightly deemed would be the next point of attack. 



GBNBRAL MONTQOMERT. 



CHAPTER XXYIIL 

EXPEDITION TO CANADA. 



T was very natural for the colonists to ex- 
pect that Canada, recently conquered and 
filled with descendants of the French, would 
readily join in the revolutionary movement 
directed against their ancient enemies, the 
British. Addresses had already been sent 
to them by Congress. An army under Gen- 
erals Schuyler and Montgomery soon fol- 
^ ^ lowed. On the 10th of September, 1775, 

thousand men were landed at St. Johns, one hundred and fitteer 




DEATH OF GENERAL MO^^TGOMETlY. 



331 



miles north of Ticonderoga ; but they soon retreated to Isle Aux Noix, 
where General Schuyler, being ill, left the army under command of 
Montgomery, who soon returned and laid siege to St. Johns. General 
Carleton advanced against him with eight hundred men, but was in- 
tercepted while attempting to cross the St. Lawrence, and driven 
back by Colonel Warner, with three hundred men. St. Johns then 
capitulated, and Montgomery advanced to Montreal. During the 
siege, Colonel Ethan Allen was captured and sent to England. 
Montgomery took Montreal and its garrison with eleven armed ves- 
sels ; but Sir Guy Carleton escaped to Quebec. 

Meantime General Washington had despatched Arnold througti 
the wilderness of Maine, with eleven hundred men, who left the 
camp at Cambridge on the 13th of September, and after enduring in- 
credible hardships in their march, reached Point Levi, near Quebec, 
on ihe 9th of November; but he had no boats for crossing the river, 
ana was not in a condition to assault the garrison. He was joined 
by Montgomery on the 1st of December, and a whole month was 
spent in besieging the city, and finally in preparations for an assault, 
which took place on the 31st. Two feigned attacks were made on 
the upper town by Majors Brown and Livingston, whilst Montgomery 
and Arnold made two real attacks on the lower town. Montgomery, 
advancing along the St. Lawrence, at the head of his troops, at first 
met with success, and the battery was deserted by all the enemy ex- 
cept two or three persons, one of whom, in retiring, applied a slow- 
match to one of the guns, and fired it. This shot was fatal to Mont- 
gomery, and several other officers. Colonel Campbell, on whom the 
command devolved, precipitately retreated with the rest of the 
division. 

Meantime, Arnold, with three hundred and fifty men, made an 
attack on the other side ; but he received a musket-ball in the leg, 
and was carried off to the camp. Captain Morgan, with a Virginia 
company of riflemen, pressed forward, and carried the battery, cap- 
turing the guard. Morgan formed his men ; but from the darkness 
of the night and his ignorance of the town, he was unable to pro- 
ceed further. He was soon joined by Lieutenant-Colonel Green and 
other officers, and his numbers were increased to two hundred men. 
At daylight they were attacked by the garrison, and after sustaining 
the whole force of the enemy for three hours, they were compelled 
to surrender. 

Arnold, upon whom the command now devolved, with but three 



832 EXPEDITION TO CANADA. 




DKATH OF MONTaOMTIRT. 



or four hundred men tit for duty, maintained a blockade of the city- 
till February. But the misconduct of his soldiers defeated the main 
Dbject of the expedition, which was to conciliate the people of 
Canada. Reinforcements arrived, and the siege was kept up till 
May, when the opening of the river brought in a British fleet, and 
Gluebec was effectually relieved. General Thomas, who had super- 
seded Arnold in the command, was obliged to- raise the siege and 
retreat, leaving his baggage, artillery, stores, and a number of sick 
soldiers, whom Carleton treated with great humanity. 

The remaining incidents of the expedition are uninteresting. The 
Americans were driven by the greatly superior force of the enemy, 
to Montreal, which Arnold was compelled to quit on the 15th of 
June, ap^ ^etire to Crown Point. 

In the succeeding campaign, Carleton being determined to take 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, first obtained possession of Lake 
Champlain, which was bravely but ineffectually defended by Arnold 
with a flotilla greatly inferior to that of the British. The action took 
place in October, 1776, and the defeat of Arnold was succeeded by 
the fall of Crown Point, which was taken by Carleton on the 15ih 



FAILURE OF THE EXPEDITION. 



333 



of October. The garrison retreatovi to Ticonderoga. This post, oc- 
cupied by Gates and Schuyler, with a resolute garrison, Carleton did 
not think it prudent to attack ; but retired into winter quarters in 
Canada. 

It is not improbable that with more prudent management on the 
part of Arnold, duebec might have been taken by surprise on his 
hrst descent. But the rashness of this officer was at least equal to 
his undoubted courage. The most unfortunate circumstance attend- 
ing the disastrous expedition against Canada, was the loss of the 
heroic General Montgomery, one of the best and bravest officers in 
the American army. His fall was universally lamented. 




M':?NTTMBNT TO OENKRAl- MONTGOMHRY, AT ST. PAUl's O BVT 
S BW T OBK. 



"BATTLE GROUNT) OF TBBNTON. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

CAMPAIGN OF 1776. 



HE object of Washington in proceed" 
ing to New York, after the siege of 
Boston was closed, was to anticipate 
the arrival of the British, as he was 
satisfied that the intended direction of 
the invading force was against that 
colony. This was the more dreaded, 
as the feeling in favour of the royal 
cause was there very strong, especially in the city ; while Captain 
Parker still commanded the harbour, and Queen's County in Long 
Island had refused to send deputies to the provincial convention. 
The Congress had ordered a party of troops to enter that district, and 
seize the arms of all the royalists ; but this injunction was after- 
wards withdrawn, a step much disapproved by Washington. He 
hesitated not to sanction the proposal of General Charles Lee, one of 
'he most enterprising of the provincial leaders, who hastily raised 9 

334 




DEFENCE OF FORT MOULTRIE. 



335 



body of troops in Connecticut, advanced by forced marches upon 
N?iw York, and disregarding the remonstrances of the inhabitants, 
occupied the city, and began to erect fortifications on its different 
sides. After the evacuation of Boston, the commander-in-chief, as 
we have already stated, left it defended by a comparatively smaL 
force under Ward, and proceeded with the main army to New York, 
where he arrived on the 13th of April. 

As some months would still elapse before the British could assemble 
their troops and open the general campaign, they determined to send 
an expedition immediately against the southern states, where the 
climate would oppose no obstacle, and a decisive blow might be 
struck with a smaller army. Botta censures this course as weaken- 
ing their force by division. Had he, however, perused the official 
despatches, he would have seen that concentration formed the ori- 
ginal plan of the campaign, and that this enterprise was merely to 
fill up the interval till the whole should be mustered. A chimerical 
hope was even cherished, that Clinton, the commander, might pursue 
a victorious career northwards, till he should join Howe at New 
York ; at all events, he was instructed to be there before the opening 
of *'ne campaign. After touching at New York, he joined Governor 
Martin, near Cape Fear ; but the main force was to consist of seven 
regiments conveyed from England by Sir Peter Parker and Lord 
Cornwallis. Various contingencies delayed its arrival till the begin- 
ning of May ; and June came before the expedition reached Charles- 
ton, its destination. Its movements, and an intercepted letter, had by 
that time betrayed the design. The most active preparations were 
made, the principal inhabitants labouring in concert with the lower 
classes, aided by a numerous bod}^ of slaves. The defences were 
greatly strengthened, and a new fort, named in honour of its com- 
mander, Moultrie, erected on Sullivan's Island, separated by a nar- 
row creek from a larger one named Long Island, commanded the 
entrance. Between five and six thousand men were assembled, 
nearly half of them regulars, and the chief command was taken by 
General Lee, who seemed to court every post of danger. 

The expedition arrived on the 4th June, and the troops were 
landed on Long Island ; yet from various obstacles, the attack was 
not made till the 28th. The fleet comprised two ships of fifty guns, 
and six bearing from twenty to thirty ; but three of the latter, through 
the unskilfulness of the pilot, were entangled in the shoals, and could 
not be brought into action. The others, stationed before the fort, 
22 



B36 CAMPAIGN OF 1776. 




SIR PBTBR PAHKBR. 



opened a tremendous fire, which was kept rp with the greatest 
I'nergy and spirit. The defenders maintained their post with equal 
firmness ; and the walls, though low, were composed of a firm 
spongy palmetto wood, in which the balls sunk without shatterinir 
them. The garrison returned a cool, steady, and remark ibly well 
directed fire, which did terrible execution ; the ships were rendered 
almost unmanageable, several of the chief officers fell, and the com- 
modore was at one time left alone on his own deck. Clinton, from 
the land-side, did not co-operate, having unexpectedly found the 
creek impassable. He offered, by conveying over two battalions, to 
effect a diversion in favour of the naval commander ; but the latter, 
he complains, returned no answer, being too confident, and ambitious 
of doing the whole himself. The fleet finally moved off in a most 
shattered state, having lost about two hundred men, including Lord 
William Campbell and other officers of rank ; while the Americans 
had thirty-five killed and wounded. The whole affair was most for- 
tunate, adding another to the series of successes gained by the Ameri- 
cans, and inspiring them with fresh courage. 

During the course of this winter, a momentous design was in 
HCtive progress, which had a very important issue. Several leading 



PUBLIC FEELINQ. 



337 




DBFBNCB OF FORT MOO 1. TBI B. 



mon, particularly in New England, had, front) the beginning, extended 
their views to the entire dissolution of their connection with Britain. 
Overpowered, however, by a majority of their own number, and by 
the force of public opinion, they did not openly acknowledge theii 
designs, but watched the train of events. Down to 1775, the great 
body of the people seem to have entertained no wish, or even idea, 
of final separation ; though in the course of that year some partial 
movements began in its favour. In May, a convention in Mecklen- 
burg county, North Carolina, declared for it, but the example was 
nowhere followed, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Virginia, and 
other royal colonies, being left without a government, authority was 
given to the people to establish one for themselves, limited to the 
continuance of the dispute with the mother country. Towards the 
close of the year, detached parties everywhere began openly to pro- 
nounce for independence ; yet the general feeling was still strong 
against it. This sentiment was forcibly expressed by the Assemblies 
of New York and New Jersey, the latter declaring " their detestation 
of that horrid measure." Dr. Franklin, though not openly professing 
it, circulated articles of union and confederation ; but they were 
coldly received, and not even sanctioned by Congress. 

In spring, 1776, news was received that the petition of the Congress 
had been rejected ; that they had been declared rebels; that large armies 
were preparing to subdue them, and that their whole commerce was 
jtterly nrohibited. Thenceforth a large majority of the leading men 



338 



CAMPAIGN OF 1776. 



formed the determined purpose of asserting independence. The 
Union, it appeared to them, could never be then restored on any- 
footing, but that of complete subjugation. 

GENERAL desire, accordingly, was now felt 
to carry out this measure in a decided form, 
before the expected military force, or the 
conciliatory commission, should arrive from 
Great Britain. The press was most actively 
employed in urging the measure, through 
gazettes, newspapers, and pamphlets. The 
essay named Common Sense, by Thomas 
Paine, from its rough and homely shrewdness, produced a very 
powerful effect. As a preparative, Congress authorized the imme- 
diate suppression of royal jurisdiction in all the colonies, and the 
formation of governments emanating from the people; while they 
met the prohibition against their trade by throwing it open to the 
whole world, except Britain. 

On the 22d April, the convention of North Carolina empowered 
their delegates to concur with the others in the establishment of in- 
dependence. That of Virginia went farther, instructing theirs to 
propose it. Boston was now somewhat less forward, merely inti- 
mating, if Congress should think it necessary, their willing concur- 
rence. Thus supported, Mr. Lee, a Virginia delegate, on the 7th 
June, 1776, submitted a resolution for dissolving all connection with 
Great Britain, and constituting the united colonies free and inde- 
pendent states. It was warmly debated from the 8th to the 10th, 
when it was carried, by a majority of one. As this was not a foot- 
ing on which so mighty a change could be placed, the final decision 
was postponed till the 1st July ; and during the interval, every pos- 
sible engine was brought to act upon the dissentient colonies. The 
smaller states were threatened with exclusion from all the benefits 
and protection which might be derived from the proposed union. As 
the Assemblies of Pennsylvania and Maryland still refused their con- 
currence, conventions of the people were called, where majorities 
were at length obtained. Thus, on the 4th July, votes from all the 
colonies were procured in favour of the measure. 

The Declaration of Independence, which had already been care- 
fully prepared, was forthwith emitted. In this instrument Congress 
solemnly published and declared, that " these United Colonies are, 
and of right ought to be, free and independent states," and en 




STATE OF THE AMERICAN ARMY. 



339 



litled, as such, to carry on war, make peace, form alliances, regulate 
commerce, and discharge all other sovereign functions. This mo 
mentous deed was signed on the 2d August. 1776, by ail the mem- 
bers then present. 

N the decisive posture which 
alfairs had now assumed, 




Washington was actively 
endeavouring to organize 
the means of maintaining 
the contest. His most urgent repre- 
sentations to Congress upon the ne- 
cessity of forming a permanent army 
had been disregarded; and he founa 
himself at the head of a motley 
group, in which soldiers, enlisted 
only for a year half elapsed, were 
mixed with militia whose services were to be still mere temporary. 
In these circumstances, the restraints of discipline extended little 
beyond the general orders. In general, however, the soldiers were 
willing to fight, and had shown themselves capable both of forming 
and defending intrenchments. Washington made it a rule never to 
spare the spade ; many were well skilled in the desultory use of the 
rifle, yet ill fitted for a field campaign with a large body of regular 
troops. Even of these ineffective soldiers there were, at the begin- 
ning of July, 1776, only seventeen thousand; and though they were 
raised in a few weeks to twenty-seven thousand, it was mostly by 
militia, numbers of whom were soon on the sick-list. 

Meantime, General Howe was engaged in conveying his army to 
;he scene of action. The abrupt departure from Boston had consi- 
derably deranged his plans, as all the supplies were directed toward 
that city, and some thus fell into the hands of the Americans. In 
June, however, the armament set sail ; and he himself landed at 
Sandy Hook. He preferred, however, to land the troops on Staten, 
an island south of Long Island, much smaller, and separated by a 
narrow channel. On the 3d of July, he disembarked there without 
opposition, being greeted with warm assurances of welcome and sup- 
port from the adjacent territories. On the 12th, he was joined by 
his brother. Lord Howe, who had been appointed commander of the 
fleet, and also joint commissioner to treat of pacification ; while the 
tfhips, with the large reinforcements from Britain, began arriving in 



340 



CAMPAIGN OF 1770. 




rNDBPBNDENCH! HALL, PHILADKLPHIA., -WHERB THB DBCLA-RATION 
OF INDBPBNDBNCB WAS SIGNED. 



successive detachments. As operations were delayed till the whole 
were assembled, his lordship circulated a proclamation, offering full 
pardon to all who should return to their duty, and to any port or co- 
lony so acting, peace, protection, and free trade. No concession 
being mentioned as to the original grounds of dispute. Congress con- 
sidered it so unsatisfactory that they studiously circulated it among 
the people. Lord Howe also attempted to open communication? 
with Washington ; but as he did not choose to address him in 
his letter under his title of general, his advances were politely 
dechned. 

The British designs had been well concealed, and the American 
commander remained long in anxious doubt whether the inroad was 
not to be made on the side of Canada. Considering New York, 
however, as the most probable and dangerous point, he had been 
liiiigently strengthening all its approaches. Having determined also 



BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 



341 




LORD HOWS 



to make a stand for the defence of Long Island, he formed strong 
lines at Brooklyn, nearly opposite to the city, stationing the flower 
of his troops along a range of strongly fortified heights in front of the 
British quarters on Staten Island. Huwe, meantime, waited till hia 
whole force was mustered, when he could follow up without inter- 
ruption any success he might obtain. About the middle of August, 
he had been joined by nearly all the reinforcements from Britain, 
and also by those from the south under Clinton and Cornwallis, 
which augruenled his force to about thirty thousand men. He still, 
however, waited a few days on account of the intense heat, which, 
be dreaded, would injure the health of the troops. 

At length, on the 22d August, the British army crossed the chan- 
nel, and, covered by the guns of the fleet, landed on Long Island, 
laking post opposite to the range of heights occupied by the Amen 
cans. Washington, in the immediate view of this grand contest, 
issued repeated addresses, strenuously encouraging his men, and 

2f2 



342 



CAMPAIGN OF 1776. 




GENERAL HOWB. 



seeking to inspire confidence. Howe, on viewing Washing .on'a 
position, considered it too strong to be carried in front, but formed a 
plan for turning it. Before day, on the 27th, General Grant. \Yith 
the Hessian troops under De Heister, attacked the American right 
wing, which, being connected with Brooklyn, was considered the 
most important, and which the Americans directed all their efforts to 
re nforce. These officers, in conjunction with the fleet, kept up a 
brisk and continued fire, tending to confirm this impression, yet 
avoiding to make any material advance. Meantime, during the 
night, a strong detachment of the English army, under Clinton and 
Cornwallis, made a wide circuit through a pass in the hills round 
the extreme American left. This had been insufficiently guarded 
by a mere party of observation, which was surprised and captured ; 
"0 that Clinton reached almost unresisted the level plain behind the 



EFFORTS FOR PACIFICATION. 



343 




GBNEBAL SULLIVAN. 



position of the American army. About haJf-past eight, he appeared 
in their rear, while Grant and De Heister began pushing forward 
with their utmost vigour. No choice was then left but for the whole 
American army to regain the intrenched camp at Brooklyn, in reach- 
ing which they fell into the utmost confusion, and were pursued on 
both flanks with dreadful slaughter. Lord Stirling attempted to 
cover the retreat by an attack with a chosen corps upon Lord Corn- 
wallis, but was surrounded and taken prisoner with all his delich- 
ment. The entire loss is stated by Howe at upwards of three 
thousand, including eleven hundred prisoners, among whom was 
General Sullivan. That of the British was only three hundred and 
sixty-seven killed, wounded, &nd taken. 

On the 29th, Washington with great activity conveyed over during 
the night the whole army, with most of its artillery, in safety to New 
York. 

The British commissioners, who showed an anxious desire for pa- 
cification, chose this occasion tO send Sullivan, the captured general, 
to Congress, stating that tney could not indeed as yet acknowledge 
its political character, but inviting some of its members to a confe- 
rence. A deputation was sent, consisting of Adams, Franklin, and 
Rutledge — strenuous votaries of independence. Lord Howe re 



3t4 



CAMPAIGN OF 1776. 




THE RETREAT OF THE AMERICAN ARMY FROM LOIiO ISLAND. 



ceived them with great pohteness; but his ofTers incluHed mere)}-, 
as usual, a general amnestv% and a promise to reconsider the ob- 
noxious acts; while they declared a treaty inadmissible on any basis, 
except that of the states being acknowledged independent. On these 
terms there could not be the least approximation betweei. the two 
parties. 

General Howe now proceeded with measures for d\ ving the 
Americans out of New York, which, as usual, he soughi to eflect 
rather by circuitous manoeuvre than by direct assault. He prepared 
expeditions to ascend the opposite branches of the Hudson, which 
enclose New York Island, and, b}'- landing above the city, oblige the 
Americans either to evacuate or be completely shut up within it. 
Washington, viewing with alarm these movements, called a council 
of officers, and recommended the immediate withdrawal of the troops; 
but strong objections being expressed, it was determined rather to 
leave there five thousand men, wh'le the main body occupied a 
strong post at Kingsbridge, connecting the northern point of the 
island with the continent. As the British operations advanced, the 
perils attending this detached position became evident, so that by 
general consent the evacuation was determined upon, and the utmosi 



BKITISH ENTER NEW YORK. 



345 



activity employed m removing the artillery and stores. On the loth 
September, Clinton landed at Kipp's Bay, a position strongly forti- 
Hed, and defended by eight regiments; but, dispirited by late disas- 
ters, they fled without attempting resistance, and Washington in vain 
strove to rally them. It was then necessary with the utmost haste 
to withdraw the troops, which was effected with the loss of only 
about three hundred prisoners; but they left behind them a large 
quantity of artillery, stores, and camp equipage, the want of which 
was most sensibly felt. 

The British army now entered on the peaceable occupation of 
New York ; yet it was disturbed by a distressing occurrence. On 
the night of the 20ih or morning of the 21st September, a fire broke 
out, which continued to rage till a third of the city was consumed. 

Washington now took post on Haarlem Heights, a range which 
crossed the island, and had been so carefully fortified that Howe did 
not venture an attack. His plan was to oblige the Americans to 
relinquish the post by landing on the eastern shore, thus threaten- 
ing their rear and communication with New England. As a pre- 
liminary, three frigates were sent up the main stream of the Hud- 
sun ; and notwithstanding the resistance made by Forts Washington 
and Lee, and by chevaux-de-frise sunk in the channel, they passed 
without injury. Before pushing into the interior, the British com- 
mander spent about three weeks, — seemingly a needless waste of 
time, — in fortifying New York. On the 12th October, having placed 
the flower of his army in flat-bottomed boats, he proceeded up the 
eastern channel, and through the pass of Hell-gate, to the point called 
Frog's Neck. Finding his advance here much obstructed, he re- 
embarked and landed higher up at Pell's Point, whence he advanced 
upon New Rochelle. Washington, meantime, had called a council 
of war, which decided that the position on New York Island was no 
longer secure ; and the troops accordingly crossed at Kingsbridge, 
taking up a position extending thence eastward towards White 
Plains, which was fortified as well as time would admit. Howe, on 
coming up and reconnoitring, determined to attack first a detached 
corps of sixteen hundred men, under General McDougalL who, after 
a sharp but short conflict, were dislodged ; but the general position 
was judged so strong as to make it advisable to wait for some rein- 
forcements. These arrived, and the attack was preparing; when, 
during the night of the 31st, Washington retired to a range of 
heights five miles in his rear, which he had been em[)loyed in 



346 



CAMPAIGN OF 177^. 



Strengthening. To the cautious view of the British commander thia 
post appeared so formidable that he determined to change the seat 
of war to New Jersey, a less defensible territory, whither his antago- 
nist would be obliged to follow him. 

As a preliminary, he resolved to attack Fort Washington, a strong 
post still held by the Americans on New York Island. He de- 
termined to attempt the place by storm ; and, on the 16th November, 
the British, in four divisions, advanced to the assault. In a' few 
hours they had carried all the outworks, in which the chief strength 
consisted ; and Magaw, the governor, felt himself obliged to capitulate 
The prisoners amounted to two thousand eight hundred and eighteen, 
rendering the loss nearly as heavy as at the battle on Long Island ; 
while the royal army had eight hundred killed and wounded. Corn- 
wallis immediately landed with a strong force o/i the Jersey shore, 
when the Americans found it necessary, in great haste, to evacuate 
Fort Lee, opposite to Fort Washington. The garrison was saved, 
but the cannon, tents, and stores were left behind. 

The American army was now pursued through New Jersey, a 
level country, which afforded no defensible position, and the time was 
not allowed to fortify any. After a retreat of three weeks, Washing- 
ton only secured himself by crossing to the opposite side of the Dela- 
ware. The critical period was again approaching, when the terms 
for which the troops had been enlisted would expire. Exhausted 
and dispirited, they eagerly availed themselves of the liberty thus 
afforded. He had been urging in the strongest terms upon Con- 
gress the ruinous nature of the temporary system hitherto pur- 
sued, warning them that, without a permanent and well-organized 
army, the cause was lost. Seconded by the disastrous state of affairs, 
he had been empowered to raise first eighty-eight, and then sixteen 
more regular battalions ; to give higher bounties and pay ; and to aci 
in other respects for six months as a military dictator. The men, 
however, were not yet raised, and present circumstances were little 
calculated to invite them into the service. In crossing the Delaware, 
he had with him only three thousand, independent of a detachment 
left at White Plains under General Lee. That officer, while re- 
luctantly obeying the order to join the main force, and suspected to 
be meditating some schemes of his own, was surprised and made 
prisoner, — an event which threw additional gioom o^^er the Ameri- 
can prospects. 

The course seemed now open before Howe to cross the Delaware 



GENERAL LEE TAKEN PRISONER. 



349 




O lIKKAI; Las S HBAD-QUARTHBS AT BASKINRIDGE. 

With the utmost possible expedition, and advance on Philadelphia. 
Washington entertained no doubt of this being his opponent's inten- 
tion ; and, though its accomplishment " would wound the heart of 
every virtuous American," declares himself wholly without the means 
of preventing it. 

The campaign, thus far, had been a series of great and almost un- 
interrupted misfortunes. Still, though the American cause seemed 
reduced to ttie Jowest ebb. Congress remained firm, announcing to 
fheii countrymen and to the powers of Europe a determination to 
adhere immutably to ihe Declaration of Independence. Wash- 
ington fell the weight of the evils that pressed upon the cause ; 
yet, with a bold and firm spirit, he watched every opportunity 
of retrieving it. He had collected about five or six thousand 
men, and prevailed upon some, whose service had expired, to 
remain for other six weeks. The English army, covering the Jer- 
seys, was ranged along the Delaware from Trenton to Burlington, 
on which hne there was reason to believe that no very strict watch 
would be kept, Washington determined on the bold plan of crossing 
S.e Delaware, and attacking the enemy in his own camp. The 

2G 



350 



CAMPATGX OF 1776. 




WASHINGTON CBOSSINQ THB DEL/W&RB. 



troops being formed into three detachments, he, with the strongest, 
amounting to two thousand four hundred, crossed the river on the 
night of the 25th December, and from two opposite points attacked 
Trenton, then occupied by Colonel Rhalle with a strong body of 
Hessians. That officer, while hastily mustering his men, received a 
mortal wound; and the whole corps, surprised and surrounded, 
speedily surrendered. The two other detachments were arrested by 
severe cold and tempest, otherwise they might, it was hoped, have 
been equally successful, and a sweep made of the whole range of po- 
sitions. Washington, however, had good reason to congratulate him- 
self on carrying off nearly one thousand prisoners, with only ten of 
his own men killed and wounded, — a most unexpected event, which 
wonderfully revived the sinking spirits of his countrymen. 

Washington now crossed the Delaware, and, with five thousand 

o 

men, took post at Trenton; but Cornwallis, mustering all his force, 
advanced upon him; and, on the 2d January, 1777, the two armies 
were separated only by a creek. Washington saw that, by engaging 
here a superior army, he ran imminent hazard of being defeated, and 
driven over the Delaware with great disadvantage and loss. He 
formed a bold design : breaking up silently in the night, he moved 
round the British right, and advanced rapidly upon Brunswick, 
where their chief magazines were lodged. He might seemingly 



BATTLES OF TREXTOX AND PRIXCETOX. 



853 



hare succeeded, had he not encountered at Princeton three reo-i- 
mtnts coming up to join the main army. The Americans were at 
first driven back, and General Mercer killed ; but Washington, by 
extraordinary exertions, restored the action, separated his opponems, 
and obliged them to retreat in different directions. He then, how- 
ever, saw advancing against him the van of Cornwallis, who, having 
received the alarm, hastened to frustrate his scheme; and as he could 
not hazard a battle without the certainty of defeat, with the risk of 
having his retreat cut off, he prudently fell back. In this skirmish, 
the loss on both sides was nearly equal ; but the having made an- 
other bold offensive movement without disadvantage, heightened 
great'y the favourable impression produced by his former enterprise. 
The English general then repaired to Brunswick, and limited him- 
self to a defensive line thence to AmDoy, merely covering New 
York. Thus Washington ha) recovered nearly the whc-le of thf 
Jerseys. 




"w-ashiiioton'3 hb a d - q u a rt e r3 at brandy-winb. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

CAMPAIGN OF 1777, AND CONCLUSION OF THE TREATY WITH 

FRANCE. 

PON the approach of the British towards Phi- 
ladelphia, (December 12, 1776,) Congress had 
removed its sittings from that place to Balti- 
more. Washington's successes in New Jersey 
brought it back to Philadelphia in February, 
1777. On the 27th of December, 1776, Con- 
gress conferred upon Washington powers for 
raising forces and conducting the war, which were nearly dictatorial. 

Meantime, the British ministry, under the direction of Lord North, 
maintained their determination to enforce the unconditional submis- 
sion of the colonies, while the opposition party in parliament were 
earnestly endeavouring to procure the adoption of conciliatory mea- 
sures. With the majority of the British nation the war was popular ; 
and no difficulty was found in obtaining from parliament the requisite 
supplies of men and money for carrying on the new campaign with 
vigour. 

354 




SUPPLIES FBOM FEANCE. 



Before the opening of the campaign, Washington's whole force 
had been reduced to fifteen hundred men. Early in the year, how- 
ever, fifteen hundred of the new troops would have been upon their 
march from ^Massachusetts ; but the general court could not supply 
them with arms. This perplexity nas of but a short continuance. 
A vessel arrived at Portsmouth, from France, with 11,9S7 stand of 
arms, 1000 barrels of powder, 11,000 gun-flints, and ether munitions 
of war. Congress had been under a similar embarrassment with the 
Massachusetts general court, as to the procuring of supplies for 
Washington's anny ; but they obtained similar relief by the arrival 
of 10,000 stand of arms in another part of the United States. 

Before the royal army took the field for the ensuing campaign, 
wo enterprises were resolved upon for the destruction of the Ameri- 
can stores, deprsiied at Peekskill, on the North R:.er, and at Dan- 
bury, in Connecticut. For this purpose, a detachment of five hundred 
men, under Colonel Bird, was convoyed up the Hudson to Peekskill, 
by ihe Brune frigate. General McDougall, who commanded the 
p( st, having a weak garrison, fired the principal store-houses, and re- 
treated to a pass through the highlands, three miles distant. Bird de- 
stroyed the greater part of the stores, and re-embarked on the same 

In April, Governor Try on, with a detachment of two thousand 
men, passed through the Sound, under a naval convoy; and landing 
between Fairfield and Norwaik, advanced to Danbury, on the after- 
noon of the 26th, the American troops having retired with a part of 
the stores and provisions. The enemy, on their arrival, began burn- 
ing and destroying the remainder, together with eighteen houses and: 
their contents. 

On the approach of the British armament, the country was alarmed :. 
and, early the next morning, General Sullivan, with about five hun- 
dred men, pursued the enemy, who had twenty-three miles to march- 
He was joined by Generals Arnold and Wooster, with about two 
hundred militia ; and when the royal troops quilted Danbury on the- 
2Tth, the Americans marched after them. General Wooster was 
mortally wounded ; and the Americans lost about twenty killed and 
forty wounded. Governor Tryon lost about four hundred men in 
killed, wounded, and prisoners. 

On the 18th of April, General Cornwallis surprised the post al 
Roundbrock, and General Lincoln, who commanded the American 
force there, narrowly escaped rapture, with the loss of sixty killeil,- 
2.3 



356 



CAMPAIGN OF 1T77. 




GENBRAL WOOSTEa. 



wounded, and prisoners. The British destroyed the stores a/id 
evacuated the place. This was retaliated by a similar inroad on 
Sagg Harbour, made by Colonel Meigs, who destroyed a large 
amount of shipping, and captured ninety prisoners, without the loss 
of a man. On the 10th of July, Colonel Barton surprised and cap- 
lured General Prescott, at his quarters in Rhode Island, which was 
then held by the British. Prescott was soon after exchanged for 
Oeneral Charles Lee. 

While these desultory operations were going on, Washington was 
actively raising and organizing troops. Levies, however, went on 
very slowly, through the discouraging state of the cause and the 
rigour of the season ; so that, at the opening of the campaign, he had 
not mustered quite eight thousand men. These, however, were in 
an improved state of discipline, bearing somewhat the aspect and 
character of a regular army; and during the winter months, he had 
strongly intrenched them in a position covering the route to Phila- 
delphia. Howe considered it inexpedient to open the campaign till 
the middle of June. He then assumed a position in front of the 
American army, which he maintained six days ; but, after having 
carefully reconnoitred their camp, considered it too strong for attack. 



BATTLE OF BRANDY^ INE. 



857 



and fell back to his original station. His next manoeuvre was to 
commence an apparently precipitate retreat, by which Washington 
was so far deceived, that he engaged in a hasty pursuit, when the 
royal troops, as soon as the enemy were close upon them, wheeled 
round and made a brisk attack. Lord Cornwallis pursued a detach - 
ment under Lord Stirling to a considerable distance ; but the Ameri- 
can general, on seeing his error, exerted such activity in withdrawing 
his detachments, that they regained their intrenched position without 
very serious loss. 

The British commander, having thus failed in his attempts to 
bring the Americans to action, conceived it impossible, in their face, 
to attempt the passage of so broad a river as the Delaware. There 
appeared no alternative but to embark his army, and, by a great cir- 
cuit, land them at the head of the Chesapeake. The British force 
embarked on the 5th July, and did not reach its destination till the 
24th August, when it was landed without opposition. 

Washington had been carefully watching its movements, and re- 
cruiting his own force, which he had raised to fourteen thousand — 
not the most numerous, but the most efficient of any he had hitherto 
commanded. He determined, therefore, to risk a battle in defence 
of Philadelphia, though conscious that its issue must be very doubt- 
ful; but otherwise the expectations of the country would be disap- 
pointed, and a discouragement ensue worse than defeat. The only 
considerable river on the route was the Brandywine, along whose 
high banks he drew up his army, erecting batteries and intrench- 
ments for the defence of the principal fords. Howe's advance to 
this point was obstructed only by skirmishes with his advanced 
guard; yet he did not reach it till the llth September. Deter- 
mining then upon an attack, he made his arrangements with skill 
and judgment. Knyphausen, with the Hessians, attacked the Ameri- 
can front, driving them across the river, with apparently vigorous 
attempts to follow, yet avoiding any actual advance. Meantime, 
a strong division under Cornwallis, accompanied by Howe himself, 
made a circuit of seventeen miles to pass by the upper fords. Wash- 
ington had received some intimation of this movement, but, distracted 
by opposite reports, did not sufficiently provide against it. Corn- 
wallis reached the right of the American army before it had time to 
form, and, by a vigorous attack, he completely broke and drove them 
before him. Knyphausen, as soon as he heard this firing, pushed 
forward with his whole force, when the American centre, already 

45 



8n8 



CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 




B&TTLB OF BRAVDTWINB. 



alarmed by the disaster of its right, gave way at every point. Aht,, 
some vain attempts by Greene to cover the retreat, the whole army 
retreated, losing nine hundred killed and wounded, and four hundred 
prisoners. 

The American general soon re-assembled his defeated army, and 
though slowly retreating, did not give up all hopes of saving Phila- 
delphia. He was even about again to engage the enemy, when a 
violent storm, continued during a whole day and night, prevented 
the conflict and rendered his ammunition useless. Still it was only 
by skilful manoeuvres that his opponent succeeded in entering the 
capital, and obliging him to retreat beycnd it. Congress, who had 
returned thither, removed first to Lancaster and then to Yorktown. 

Thus established in Philadelphia, Howe pushed forward the main 
body of his force to Germantown. A large part, however, was 
employed in reducing a chain of forts and batteries, which the Ameri- 
cans had erected on the Lower Delaware, interrupting the direct 
communication with the sea, where Admiral Lord Howe, after land- 
ing the troops at the head of the Chesapeake, had brought round the 
fleet. Washington, having received some reinforcements, determined 
to take advantage of this divided state of the army by a sudden 
attack on the portion stationed at Germantown. At seven o'clock in 
the evening of the 3d October, his troops advanced in four divisions, 
&nd, having marched fourteen miles, at daybreak took the British 
completely by surprise. For some time he carried all before him ; 
but he was arrested by a large stone building, the residence of Mr. 
Chew, obstinately defended ty sx companies, ly which he was 



BATTLE UF GERMANTOWN. 359 




BATTLS OF OBB12ANTOWN. 



delayed, having stopped to reduce it. On the opposing force being 
folly drawn forth, he was obliged to retire with the loss of upwards 
of a thousand in killed, wounded, and prisoners. Notwithstanding 
this unfortunate issue, a favourable impression of his resources was 
conveyed by his resuming the offensive so soon after the defeat at 
Brandywine. 

The British troops were now employed in reducing the defences 
of the Delaware. In attacking the fort of Red Bank, a detachment 
under Count Donop, a gallant German officer, was repulsed with the 
loss of about four hundred men, and the commander mortally wounded. 
It was afterwards relinquished on the approach of a superior force ; 
but November had nearly closed before the passage for the fleet was 
completely cleared. Howe then, on the 4th December, marched 
out with the view of again bringing the American general to battle. 
The latter, having received four thousand additional troops from the 
north, had taken up a position at Whitemarsh, about fourteen miles 
from Philadelphia, which he considered so strong that his letters 
express a desire of being there attacked ; but the English general, 
upon a careful survey, declined the engagement, and, after some 
days' skirmishing, fell back upon the capital. The attention of 
Washington was then anxiously directed to the choice of winter 



360 



CAMPAIGN OP 1777. 




^^^^ 



BA.TTLH OF BED BA.MK. 



quarters. After much hesitation, he fixed upon Valley Forge, on the 
Schuylkill, a very wild and bare spot, but welJ fitted for straitening 
the English position, and overawing the inhabitants, many of whom 
were disaffected. The troops laboured under a scarcity of pro- 
visions, and still more of clothes and shoes; so that their marches 
were marked by tracks of blood fram their wounded feet. The 
country people were indisposed to supply goods, and set very little 
value on the paper certificates offered in return ; but Washington on 
one occasion only would agree to a compulsory requisition. The en- 
campment consisted of rude log-huts, erected by the soldiers, in one 
of which twelve were lodged. Their sufferings during the winter 
were most intense, and their endurance is highly creditable to their 
own fortitude, and the persuasive influence of their distinguished 
commander. 

Howe had now made two successful campaigns ; yet his reports 
to the home authorities, as to the prospects of conquerina America, 
were by no means flattering. He occupied indeed New York and 
Philadelphia, with a certain territory round them ; but the American 
army was still unbroken, and the determination of Congress as firm 
as ever. 



MARCH OF GENERAL BURQOYNE. 



361 




wa-shinoton's hkad-qoartehs at vallbt forok. 

We have already noticed that the American expedition against 
Canada had been signally disastrous. After being sev^'-elv rcpu'sed 
at Quebec, they had, in the course of December, 177*5, been com- 
pelled entirely to evacuate the province. The plan was then formed 
to send from that country a strong British force, which, penetrating 
across the back settlements of New York, might form a junction 
with Huwe, and second his operations. The scheme, which was 
owned by Lord Germaine, had a plausible appearance ; yet it must 
be admitted that arinies have rarely succeeded in finding their way 
to each other from o[>posite and distant quarters, with great and un- 
known obstacles intervening. '^I'he command was bestowed on Gene- 
ral Burgoyne; but his superseding Carleton, who had highly dis- 
tinguished himself in the defence of Canada, was by no means 
popular. 

About the middle of June, 1777, Burgoyne began his march, with 
six thousand seven hundred British and Germans, to which he added 
two hundred and fifty Canadians and four hundred Indians. His first 
movement was against Crown Point and Ticonderoga, considered the 
barriers of the Union on that frontier. These forts, which the Ameri- 
cans so fortunately acquired at the beginning of the contest, had 
been enlarged and strengthened, and were now garrisoned by above 
three thousand men. When, however, on the 5th July, the works 
were nearly invested, General St. Clair called a council of officers, 
who decided that the force, being mostly militia, was insufficient for 
their defence. A retreat was therefore effected during the night, tl\e 

OH 



362 



CAMPAIGIS OF 1777. 



baggage and stores being embarked upon Lake George. As soon as 
morning betrayed this rnovennent, a vigorous pursuit was commenced, 
several detachments were cut off, and the fiotiJla on the lake de- 
stroyed ; while the American forces, greatly reduced in numbers, 
retreated to Fort Edward, on the Hudson. 

^-=^=— HIS. triumphant opening filled the British with ex- 
ultation ; but they soon encountered great and un- 
foreseen obstacles. The country, wholly intersected 
with creeks and marshes, re(juired a constant alterna- 
tion of land and water conveyance, which the Ameri- 
cans rendered more difficult by felling large trees and 
laying them across the paths. It was necessary to construct forty 
bridges, one of them two miles in extent, while the butteaux had to 
be dragged from creek to creek by ten or twelve oxen. The interval 
between SOth July and 15th August was thus spent in an advance 
of only eighteen miles. The inhabitants were animated with a 
strong spirit of independence, and eminently fitted for desultory war- 
fare. The "Green mountain boys," who roamed and hunted over 
that lofty branch of the Alleghany, poured down in large bodies, and 
with rifles all but unerring, proved as formidable in this wild region 
as the best trained regulars. The Indians did not yield services 
equal to the odium which their employment excited. This, how- 
ever, was lost sight of ; and though Burgoyne used the utmost 
efforts to tame their savage spirit, it often broke out with violence. 
Two of them were employed to escort Miss Macrea, a young lady 
of great personal beauty, to the camp, where she was to be married 
to an officer. On the way they quarrelled about the expected re- 
ward ; when one of them, roused to fury, and resolved at all events 
to disappoint his rival, struck her dead with his tomahawk. This 
tragical event excited a strong sensation throughout the region, 
wholly to the disadvantage of the British cause. 

Burgoyne being now hard pressed for provisions and means of 
transport, and learning that there was a large supply at Bennington 
in Vermont, sent thither Colonel Baum, with six hundred Germans. 
The independents, however, mustered in unexpected numbers and 
were reinforced by General Stark, who was leading a corps Irom 
New Hampshire to aid the northern army. Baum was mortally 
wounded, and his party totally dispersed. As he had given notice 
of the threatened resistance. Colonel Brey man, with five hundred 
men, was sent to his aid, but did not arrive till all was over. H« 




BATTLE OF BENNINGTON. 



363 




MURDSB OF MISS MAOSBA 



A^as himself briskly attacked ; and, though at first he maintained 
nis ground, was at length obliged to retreat with the loss of twc 
cannon. Burgoyne heard also of the fate of an expedition of 
one thousand men under Colonel St. Leger, destined to cross Lake 
Ontario, capture Fort Stanvvix, and, ascending the Mohawk, re- 
inforce the principal corps. Here again the error of divided move 
ments and proposed meeting from distant quarters had been repeated 
That officer found the place more strongly defended than he ex- 
pected ; the Indians, who composed nearly half his force, were 
seized with a panic ; and he was obliged to fall back, abandoning 
even his stores. 

Burgoyne now felt the difficulties of his situation daily thickening 
around him. General Schuyler, after successfully commencing the 
campaign, had been superseded, and General Gates had been sent V) 
take the command of the Americans, bringing a body of regulars, 
who, with the numerous volunteers and militia, now formed an army 



364 



CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 




BArXLB 0? BESNIUQTON 



of thirteen thousand men, with habits eminently fitted for this desul- 
tory warfare. Considerations purely military would have dictated a 
return into Canada, while yet possible ; but the English general had 
to consider the dishonour of the British arms by a retreat before this 
undisciplined f^e ; the strict injunctions laid upon him to advance 
on Albany, where he was taught to expect that Howe would be 
wailing for his junction, while otherwise Gates might wheel round, 
and augment the force acting against that commander. He had 
tiierefore strong nT-tives for his deiennination to advance at whatever 
cost, It was necessary, however, to give up his communication with 
Ticonderoga and the lakes, having no force adequate to maintain the 
necessary chain of p^'Sts. Resulvino" to push forward and cut his 
way through the Anjerican troops to Albany, he led his army briskly, 
in several culumns, al' no- the roads leading- thither, disposing them 
so as to cover his artillery and baggage. Gates determined upon re- 



UAllLE OF STILLWATER. 



365 




GENHBAL S C H U T L S R. 



pisdno this movement by a general attack. He commenced it at 
Stillwater, about noon of the 19th September, and n.aintained the 
contest very obstinately till dusk, when the Americans retired Aviihin 
their lines. The energy with which they had niaintained their 
ground, nnd the kss of six hundred men sustained by the already 
reduced British force, gave this affair the character of a triumph; 
while It heightened the gloom which surrounded Burgoyne, who now 
deteriiiined to pause, and fortify hinrjself in his present position. On 
the 3d October, fifteen hundred men, sent out to forage and recon- 
noitre, rashly advanced to Bemis's Heights, within half a mile of the 
American intrenchments, when the daring Arnold instantly sallied 
out, attacked, and drove themi back to their camp. The whole Ame- 
rican army then followed and commenced a most furious assault on 
the lines. From the British quarter they were repulsed ; but the 
German intrenchments were carried, two hundred prisoners taken, 
and Breyman with several leading officers killed or wounded. After 
this disaster Burgoyne was compelled to fall back upon Saratoga. 
Burgoyne had been impelled forward by the belief that Howe with 

2 H 2 



366 



CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 




ARNOLD AT BBMIS'S H E I 1 v 



his whole army was waiting for him on the Hudson, an.i probably at 
Albany ; and having been kept ignorant of that commander's total 
change of destination, while his attempts at communication were in- 
terrupted by the Americans, he remained still in the dark on this 
subject. A letter from him, however, reached New York, whero 
Clinton had been left with a force barely sufficient to maintain thi' 
position, and without any instructions to co-operate with Burgoyne , 
so that the intelligence from that general, though so fully to be ex- 
pected, fe^ms to have fallen upon him like a thunderbolt. Being an 
energp'.ic and active officer, he assembled three thousand men, and 
beo-iin a brisk movement up the Hudson. Meantime, the forts of 
Clinton and Montgomery, which, on opposite banks, defended the 
navigation, were carried, sixty-seven cannon taken, two frigates and 
two galleys burned, by detachments sent up the river by General 
Clinton. Tryon destroyed barracks fitted to accommodate fifteen 
hundred men ; and Vaughan incurred well-merited reproach by 
reducing to a.>hes the town of Esopus. Though General Gates 



SURRENDER OF JENERAL BURGOYNE. 



3G7 




BDSuOTNE's BITBBAT up TH3 HUDSON. 



observed these movements, he wisely forbore to weaken his army 
by detachments against this corps, which faile'd in every attempt even 
to open a communication with the northern army. 

Burgoyne now felt that his affairs had reached a fatal crisis. The 
Americans held and strongly guarded all the posts in the rear, and 
had destroyed the flotilla on Lake George ; while in front they 
had an ariDy superior to his own in number, and in such warfare 
not much less efficient. A movement in either direction must 
therefore be followed by a series of incessant and harassing attacks, 
destroying his army in detail. A council of war was called, and the 
conclusion formed, that no option was left but the deeply mortifying 
one of opening a negotiation for surrender. General Gates's first 
demand was, that the whole force should ground their arms and be- 
come prisoners of war; but Burgoyne, with all his officers, agreed 
in the determination to brave every extremity rather than submit to 
such terms. Gates, feeling the importance of time, agreed, after 
some discussion, to grant the honours of war, and a free passage tc 
Britain, on condition of their not serving again in North America 



368 CAMPAIGN OF 11 11. 




SaBBINCBR OV B T7 B O O Y K 3 



during the present contest. These conditions, so far as reiated tc 
hiin, were honourably, and even courteously, fulfilled ; but Congress 
sought a pretext for evading the contract to convey the f'-oops to Bri- 
tain. The general u^arned them, that none could be found in their 
own observance of the convention, which had been strictly honour- 
able. Burgoyne, however, when complaining of the treatment which 
his men experienced at Boston, used the rash expression, that he 
considered the convention 'hereby violated ; whence they inferred, 
that on returning home, he would represent his government as ab- 
solved from the engagement against their serving in America. They 
demanded lists of the men's names, which was perfectly rea- 
sonable, but was considered by Burgoyne as an impeachment on 
British honour. In short, they determined not to fulfil the con 



DEBATES IN PARLIAMENT. 



309 




vention, — a course which Washington is said to have decidedly dis- 
ajiproved. 

News of Buro^oyne's defeat arrived in England, November, 17T7r 
while parliamen" were sitting: and the effect may be easily conceived. 
The opposition, justifying- the conduct of the commanders, threw the 
whole blame upon ministers. Chatham declared the expedition a 
most wild, uncombined, mad project ; and Fox said that ten thousan*! 
men had been destroyed by the W'ilful ignorance and incapacity of 
Lord Germaine. jMinisters, on the other hand, contended that eve?\ 
thing depending: upon them had been done ; large armies had been 
sent, and most ant(ply supplied; and, before being condemned, they 
were entitled at least to a full inquiry. Lord North protested, as on 
former occasions, his willingness to lay down office if he could thereby 
hope to restore peace ; but seeing no prospect of this, he considered 
himself bound to remain at the helm. Lord Chatham had moved for 
B cessation of hostilities, which was negatived ; but committees were 
named in each house for an inquiry into the state of the nation, the 
result of which was to be taken into consideration in the beginning 
of February, 1778. Ministers proposed and carried, though with 
considerable opposition, an adjournment till the 20th January. The 
warlike spirit of the nation had been gradually subsiding in con? ? 

17 




quence of the lengthened contest, and the little prospect of any detn 
sive success ; so that the first accounts of Burgoyne's catastrophe pro 
duced deep despcndence. and a general call for peace. In the 
course of the recess, however, a very decided reaction took place, 
excited mainly, we imagine, by the prevailing belief, that France was 
about to join America ; for David Hartley warned his friend Dr. 
Franklin, that the English would "fight for a straw with their last 
shilling and their last man.*' rather than be dictated to by that power. 
Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, came forward to 
supply regiments ; six battalions were raised in the Scottish High- 
lands ; eleven companies in Wales. The voluntary levies thus 
effected before the meeting of parliament, amounted to fifteen thou- 
sand men. The opposition exclaimed against this raising of troops 
without consent or knowledge of parliament ; but ministers had little 
dread of this charge, and boasted of the result as decisively expressing 
the national opinion in their favour. Mr. Fox and the Duke of 
Richmond made motions that no troops should be sent out of the 
kingdom, which were negatived, but not by the usual large majori- 
ties: the former only by 259 to 165; the last by 91 to 34. 



DEBATES 127 PARLTAMEXT. 



3T1 



Soon after the meeting of parliament, however, Lord North brought 
forward a most extensive scheme of conciliation, embracino- indeed 
every demand which had originally been made by the colonists. 
The right of taxation without their own consent was tn be renounced ; 
the violated constitutions were to be restored ; every act since 1763 
was to be abrogated, excepting such as were manifestly beneficial to 
the colonies. 

HIS proposal met with no serious 
opposition, though amrng the 



^ ^''^''^i^'^SBrtr/ supporters of the war there 

\v\^ \ 




p^^YJ "^'■'''''^ ' ^'^^^ considerable murmurs at the re 
nunciation of all its objects ; while 
among its opponents a serious schism 
\' was soon perceptible. A part, including 
Governor Pownall, maintained that every 
attempt to bring America again under sub- 
jection was now chimerical ; they were and 
irust be an independent sovpreig-n people; the true policy was to 
treat with them as such, and endeavour to form a close federal and 
commercial alliance, which might snatch them out of the arms of 
France. Mr. Hartley, General Conway, and the Duke of Richmcnd, 
leaned to the same opinion. But Chatham listened with the deepest 
indignation to the mention of severing from Britain that mighty em- 
pire which he had been the instrument of so widely extending. On 
the 7th April, he appeared in the House of Lords. "I rejoice," 
said he, "that the grave has not closed on me; that I am stilJ alive to 
lift up my voice against the dismemberment of this ancient and most 
noble monarchy. Shall this great king-dom, that has survived the 
Danish depredations, the Scottish inroads, and the Norman ccnquest : 
that has stood the threatened invasion of the Spanish Arniaua, now fall 
prostrate before the house of Bourbon ?" If peace could net be pre 
served with honour, why was not war commenced without hesita 
tion ? He did not know what were the means of carrying it on ; bu 
any state was better than despair, "Let us at least make one effort 
and if we must fall, let us fall like men," In the course of this de 
bate, this great statesmian was seized with a paroxysm of illness, 
which, in a few weeks, terminated his life and h^s splendid political 
career. Lord Shelburne also declared, that the moment Britain 
acknowledged the independence of America, her sun was set. There 
IS little doubt, that the opposite course would even before this ha a 
24 



372 



CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 




SILAS DB A N B. 



ber.*n the wisest ; yet it was one for which the British nation in 
general was by no means prepared. 

We must now look to the continent of Europe, where measures 
of the deepest importance had been secretly in agitation. Congress 
for some time declared that they had abstained from any attempt 
to seek support by foreign alliances, when they might hare done so 
vvith every prospect of success. France and Spain, it was well 
known, deeply humbled by the result of the war ended in 1763, and 
ihe extensive territories then wrested from them, were anxiously 
watching an opportunity to retrieve and avenge these losses. The 
latter power, indeed, might dread lest the same spirit should spread 
to her own settlements ; but France upon this head had much less 
to fear. In the spring of 1770, all the leading men in the colonies, 
having fixed their minds upon independence, became disposed to 
avail themselves of the advantages of foreign treaties. Franklin m- 
deed states, as his first opinion, that America, "as a virgin state, 
should not go about suitoring alliances," but rather wait till she was 
courted ; but he was overruled, and ultimately became the most active 
agent. On the 29ih November, 1775, a committee had been ap- 
pointed to open a correspondence with the friends of America in 



FRENCH AID. 



373 



Europe. The first person employed was Silas Deane, i member of 
Conoress, who was instructed to visit Europe in the character of a 
n erchant, and endeavour to open private channels, by which the 
cabinets might aid America without openly committing themselves. 
He arrived about the 1st July, 1776, and found the French court 
well disposed to favour his views. Turgot, a minister friendly to 
peace, had been replaced by Vergennes, who eagerly aspired to re- 
gain for France the ground Inst in the late contest. A great dread, 
however, being felt lest the power and perseverance of America 
should fail, and France be left alone to maintain an unequal contest, 
the minister intimated, that aid could not be openly given, but that 
no obstruction would be opposed to the shipment of warlike stores and 
supplies; if any occurred, it need only be stated, to be speedily re- 
moved. In fact, Mr. Deane was informed that arrangements had 
already been made for transmitting by a circuitous route a liberal 
supply. Beaumarchais, a Frenchman, had gone to London, and 
sought out Arthur Lee, the secret agent of Congress, whom he in- 
formed that the court of France had resolved to assist the colonies 
with military stores to the value of ^6200,000. They were not, 
however, to come direct from that high source, but from himself, 
under the fictitious firm of Roderique, Hortales, and Company, to be 
ostensibly established at Port St. Francois in St. Domingo, whence 
the great bulk of the articlf^s were to be furnished. Mr. Lee fullv 
understood them to be delivered out of the French magazines, and 
that only a slight and formal return was expected. By this under- 
hand channel, twenty-five thousand muskets and other supplies were 
in the beginning of 1777 received in Anjerica, and were of the ut- 
most use to Washington in the equipment of the new army which he 
was then levying. In the end of that year, however, Congress were 
much surprised by the demand, from an agent of Beaumarchais, of 
payment for all the stores thus furnished. Several letters explaining 
the transaction had been intercepted ; and the mystery in which the 
whole was involved rendered it impossible for them to give an abso- 
lute refusal. Their commissioners, however, were instructed to seek 
in the most delicate manner an explanation from the French mmis- 
ters, intimating their belief that they had been indebted to his majesty 
alone for these valuable supplies. That court, however, on being 
repeatedly pressed by the British ambassador upon this subject, had 
not scrupled to deny having afforded any aid whatever to the colo- 
nies ; so that a breach of its honour, that is, an exposure of its deceit, 

47 2T 



374 



CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 




THOMAS PAINS 



was apprehended, in now making the statement. The minister 
therefore replied, that Beaumarchais had merely received these stores 
from his majesty's arsenals as a personal accommodation, and on con- 
dition of replacing them ; gravely adding, that he knew nothing of 
such a house as Roderique, Hortales, and Company. Some time 
after, a controversy having arisen with Mr. Deane, Thomas Paine, 
then secretary of the committee for foreign affairs, published a pamph- 
let, broadly stating that the stores had been supplied by the French 
government as a gift, and with an express intimation that no pay- 
ment was expected. Hereupon Gerard, the French ambassador, 
presented two memorials to Congress, calling upon them for an ex- 
plicit disavowal of these assertions. That body, according to Mr. 
Pitkin, could not possibly at this time quarrel with France on any 
ground, and therefore put forth the declaration demanded, though 
having, he admits, the strongest ground for believing it untrue. 
Paine, for his indiscretion, was obliged to resign his office ; and •* 
became impossible to escape from the engagement to pay in the 
course of three years the demands of Beaumarchais. Congress still 
hoped that the French ministry would in some way interpose to avert 
this burdensome obligation ; but they were disappointed ; and through 
this chain of circumstances they were under the hard necessity of 
paying a profligate adventurer for supplies which had in fact been 
freely furnished to them out of the French magazines. He even in- 
tercepted one of three millions of livres covertly presented to them by 
their ally ; but before the final settlement they learned this fraud, 
and deducted it from the payment. 



FRENCH AID. 



375 



As soon as the Declaration of Independence had been fully matured, 
Congress applied itself openly and with increased vigour to the object 
of foreign alliances. On the 11th June, a committee was appointed 
to prepare a plan, which was not however matured and approved til 
the 17th September, when Dr. Franklin, Mr. Deane, and Mr. Lee, 
were appointed commissioners to proceed to France. The former, 
from his weight of character, sound judgment, and address, had 
almost the entire direction. On reaching Paris, however, in Decem- 
ber, 1776, he found the cabinet by no means prepared openy to 
espouse the cause of the States, or even to acknowledge their inde- 
pendence. Friendly professions were made, and a continuance of 
private succours promised ; but there was an evident determination 
against proceeding farther till it should appear whether they could 
resist the shock of the British armies, the pressure of which was then 
so severe. The disasters of the campaign increased the anxiety of 
Congress upon the subject. They sent commissioners to the courts of 
Vienna, Spain, Prussia, and Tuscany; and in order to induce France 
to declare openly in their favour, offered large privileges for com- 
merce and fishery, and even the possession of such West India 
islands as might be captured during the war. But the same dis- 
tresses which impelled to these overtures, made the court cautious of 
accepting them, and it continued to watch the train of events. The 
campaign of 1777, notwithstanding its misfortunes, was considered to 
afford prospects of making a permanent stand ; but the French coun- 
sels evidently vacillated with every intelligence and even report 
which arrived from America. No change took place till the arrival, 
early in December, of the momentous tidings of Burgoyne's surren- 
der, which at once gave a decisive turn to the views of the cabinet. 
On the 16th, M. Gerard intimated to the commissioners that, after 
long dehberation, the king had determined to acknowledge the inde- 
pendence of the United States, and also to afford them support, 
though thereby involving himself in an expensive war. It was 
frankly admitted that he thus acted, not merely from a friendly dis- 
position towards them, but for the promotion of his own political in- 
terests. On the 8th January, 1778, Louis wrote a letter to his uncle, 
the king of Spain, referring to Britain as their common and invete- 
rate enemy. During the pending contest, he had afforded to the 
colonies supplies of money and stores, at which England had taken 
deep umbrage, and would no doubt seize the first opportunity of 
avenging herself. The Americans had indeed shown that they wen 



376 



CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 




not to be subdued, biJt Britain might succeed in her present attempts 
to form a close and friendly alliance with them, and thus turn her 
arms undivided against her continental enemies ; now, therefore, was 
the time to form such a connection as might prevent any reunion 
between them and the mother-country. 

In pursuance of these views, there was concluded, on the 6th 
February, a treaty of commerce, accompanied by one of defensive 
alliance in the well-foreseen case of war being the result. The 
allies were to make common cause with the States, and to maintain 
their absolute independrnre. Whatever conquests should be made 
on the continent were to be secured to them, but those in the West 
Indies to the crown of France. 



COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONE& 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

CAMPAIGN OF 1778. 

HE treaty between France and America, though 
soon generally known, was for some time stu- 
diously concealed from the British minister. 
On the 13th March, however, the French am- 
bassador at London delivered a note referring 
to the United Slates as already in full possession 
of independence, whence his majesty had con- 
cluded with them a treaty of friendship and 
commerce, and would take effectual measures to prevent its inter- 
ruption. Professions were made of the king's anxiety to cultivate a 
good understanding with Britain, and his sincere disposition for peace 
of which it was ironically said that new proofs would be found in this 

48 2i2 377 




178 CA.M?Ai'jy OF 177S. 

c :: r . : i 17th, this docament was laid before parba- 

:: r , 1 5 = : e ' . he crown, stating thai the British ambas- 

s: : : T. :e -en ordered to withdraw from Paris, and 



- r.z trust in the zealous and afiectionate support of the people 

T : : his anprovoked aggression combined with insalL An 
r : : : : T ; the message was moTed in both houses ; but the 

::i 5 r :hed ministers with not haTing duly foreseen or 

p T 1 r : T f rency ; w hile a few repelled as now hopeless 

: e : ei . f rica under any kind of dependence. It was 

: : r i . : ::e3, in the Commons, of 263 to 113 : id 

•. e 1 OS ^,5 Ti.e me^sare frr calling oat the militia was 

t. :.z i :i :-. vision. 

In PenosylTania, meantime, the two armies CMitinued newing 
e :h : her without any material warlike movement. The distress 
5 5 : j Washingtoii at Valley Forge was extreme. Congress 
•1 u T~:ient measures to supply the troops with clothes or 
e T That body indeed showed a decided jealousy of 

. f -treatment did its utmr st to render their suspicions 

' r : ~ cers had to complain, not only of irregularity 

:.z : p 1 . . but of obtaining no promise of half-pay at the 
e e war; this last, however, through the remonstrances o£ 

Wa&iiiugton, was at length secured. That great man was fiirther 
harassed \j a crmbinaticm formed ar^ir.s: h'zise!^' ani shared by 
Gi.rs. : :jds contrasted his iv. sjiiris ir:::^5: Bar- 

r ; - - :;- - : i-- ■-5::-- :; --.--sof 

::.-7 r.-iL.-:. T„r:: jrr :r;-^:;:i;. : ;'.5 "iir s;:;:e :ime 

a : i ; :i -. ression upon Cz^rress aid e-e.-: le public; but 
55 : 1;: :k no notice : 5 : r: :. : : : -?:ied the 
eve:, an i^i zri :ei,jr of his " i . : :ai i ^: tI d itself. 
Although his force in spring was reduzed very .: .r. H t : : not 
▼entnre to attack, hot, according t : r : t : : - 5 ^ r t . made, 

C(Misidered himself stitHig enongia ::: . ::: za . a : : zaedex 
pedilions, several which were undertaken wita si::ess. Not 
being, however, supplied with reinforcements sufficient for any im- 
portant enterprise, he felt his situation painful, and solicited hist 
recall. The British ministers, who probably hoped that a more en- 
terprising commander might achieve some decisive successes, granted 
iV and named Chntcm his successor. His officers, however, mani- 
f-^s ed aeir ipinion of his merits b;r a :: . la; id f :a :ae occasion oi 



OFi'ERS OF CONCILIATION. 



379 




QENEBA.L GAT3S. 





N June, the British commis- 
sioners arrived with the new 
offers of concih'ation. They 
consisted of Governor John- 
stone, Lord Carlisle, and Mr. 
Eden, gentlemen who had hitherto advo- 
cated against ministers the cause of Ame- 
rica. The terms were more than had 
^^^^H been originally asked, amounting in fact 
to every degree of independence com- 
patible with a union of force against 
foreign powers, all alliance with whom was expected to be renounced. 
Smaller concessions would once have saved the colonies for Great 
Britain ; but Congress and the leading men had now taken a position 
whence they felt wholly disinclined to recede. Their minds, in the 
course of the war, had become more and more embittered against 



380 



CAMPAIGN OF 1778. 



the mothei country, and open to the pride of independent national 
existence, and of alliance with the great powers of Europe. They 
could not but doubt whether terms, so hardly wrung from an extreme 
necessity, would, in changed circumstances, be executed in their full 
extent; while they themselves would always be viewed as hostile, 
and removed as much as possible from power. They do not seem 
to have ever deliberated, merely appointing a committee to prepare 
an answer. Its tenor was, that notwithstanding all their wrongs, 
they were willing to conclude a treaty of peace and commerce, pro- 
vided Britain shoula begin by an explicit acknowledgment of their 
independence, or by withdrawing her fleets and armies. Indignation 
was expressed at the manner in which their great and good ally, the 
King of France, was mentioned, and a full determination intimated 
of adhering to the connection. The commissioners wrote an ex- 
planatory paper, endeavouring to prove that eveiy object of real im- 
j>ortance was included in their offers ; but as no new concession was 
made, it was determined to return no answer. Governur Johnstone 
had written letters to several members of Congress, in which, besides 
public motives, private advantages were held out in case of their 
aiding the cause of reconciliation. The receivers laid them before 
Congress, who immediately published them, with indignant com- 
ments, as attempts to gain the object by bribery. 

The commissioners, thus vehemently repulsed by Congress, de- 
termined to appeal to the particular states and to the nation at large. 
A manifesto and proclamation were drawn up, fully explaining all 
the advantages now offered, including the removal of every grievance 
hitherto complained of ; reminding the people that to these overtures 
Congress had refused even to listen, and asking if they were pre- 
pared to carry on a ruinous war, with no object but to throw them- 
selves into the arms of a foreign power, so long their inveterate 
enemy. It was injudiciously added, that in such case warlike 
measures would be carried on with increased severity, so that if the 
country was to belong to France, its value might be diminished. 
Congress counteracted the effect of this paper by publishing it them- 
selves with a comment of their own. 

Clinton's first operation was to evacuate Philadelphia. Its position 
was deemed disadvantageous, being so far inland, at the head of 
a long and intricate bay, liable to be commanded by those large fleets 
which France was expected to send. On the 18th June, the British 
commander began his march, rendered veiy difficult by a groal 



BATTLE or MO:h MOUTH. 



a81 




BATTLS or liO.VKOUTH. 



quantity of baggage and various encumbrances, whence his hne ex- 
tended nearly twelve railes. The Americans had destroyed the- 
bridges, and made arrangements for intercepting his progrtss; but 
these he evaded by a judicious change of route. Washington now 
consulted his general officers as to the best mode of taking advantage 
of the enemy's circumstances. Lee and several others advised tt 
avoid a general battle, but to harass hiiu by detachments thrown 
upon his flanks and rear. The general, having formed an opposite 
determination, sent forward five or six thousand men to commence 
the attack, while he remained a few railes behind, ready to support 
them. Unluckily Lee, by his seniority, was entitled to command 
this advanced guard; while Clinton, who had his best troops in the 
rear, suddenly .vhecled round, and attacked the A.nericans, who 
began a hasty retreat with the alleged concurrence of their leader. 
When Washington met them thus faUing back, he bitterly reproached 
Lee, calling upon him to rally and lead back his troops. This was 
partially effected, and when the rest of the force was brought up, 
and General Greene had placed himself on the left flank of the 
British, they became exposed to a severe cross-fire, and were unable 
to make any farther impression. I'he contest was closed by night, 
of which Clinton took advantage to continue his retreat, and in two 
days reached Sandy Hook, where he embarked without molestation. 



382 



CAMPAIGN OF 1778. 




COUNT D ESTAINQ. 



After the battle, some embittered correspondence passed between 
Washington and Lee, who was thereupon brought before a court- 
martial, charged with having made a disorderly retreat, and shown 
disrespect to his commander. He was found guilty, and suspendea 
from all command for a year, and in fact never again joined the 
army. 

No sooner had France openly declared in favour of the States, 
than she fitted out and sent to their aid a fleet of twelve sail of the 
hne under Count D'Estaing; while Britain despatched commodore 
Byron with one of equal strength. Both were delayed by contrary 
winds, and though the French admiral arrived first, he did not reach 
the Chesapeake till the British fleet and army had passed on the 
way to New York. Thither he followed, and reconnoitred the 
entrance of the harbour ; but Lord Howe, though with only half his 
force, made such judicious dispositions, that D'Estaing judged it 
imprudent to attack. He was next invited to assist in operations 
against Rhode Island, still held by a considerable English force. 
General Sullivan, on the land side, was reinforced by New England 
militia, and hy a detachment from the main army, under La Fayette, 
making in all ten thousand men. Howe hesitated not to approach ; 
• ' 1 violent storm prevented the fleets from engaging, and allowed 



OPEKATIONS AGAINST THE PRIVATEERS. 



383 



oHiy a few conl.icts between single ships, m which the British had 
the advantage. D'Estaing complained that his squadron was thus 
so severely shattered as rendered it necessary to go and refit at 
Boston, which he did, without regard to the warmest remonstrances 
from Greene and La Fayette. Sullivan was thus left in a criticai 
situation ; a force came hastily from New York, sufficient to over- 
whelm him, and he was considered to have great merit in effecting 
a precipitate retreat, with only the dispersion of a part of his army. 
Byron s'^on after arrived, and reinforced Howe, when both fleets 
were placed under Admiral Gambier ; and the English became 
completely superior at sea. The American press raised loud mur- 
murs at the inefficient support afforded by their powerful ally, from 
whom so much had been expected. This was an additional trouble 
to Washington, who dreaded umbrage between the two nations, and 
made studied apologies to the French officers for the rash language 
of his countrymen. 

He did not attempt any farther offensive movements this campaign ; 
and Chnton took occasion to attack some of the principal privateering 
stations. On Acusknet river, in Buzzard's Bay, General Brey de^ 
stroyed seventy sail of ships, and numerous storehouses; and from 
the island of Martha's Vineyard a large supply of sheep and cattle 
was drawn. At a rendezvous, however, named Egg Point, the 
success was imperfect, a great part of the shipping having es- 
caped. On these occasions, plunder and outrage were practised to 
an unjustifiable extent against known privateers. The Americans, 
through the report of the French alliance, had obtained the evacua- 
tion of Philadelphia ; but in every other respect their hopes of this 
campaign had been greatly disappointed. Their pride, however, 
was gratified by the arrival at Philadelphia of the French ambassa- 
dor, Gerard, a highly respected individual, by whose agency chieily 
the treaty had been concluded. 

N the course of this summer, the western countxy 
had been the scene of most distressing events ; 
the tories were driven, by the rigorous laws 
enacted against them, to seek an asylum be- 
yond the limits of the colonies. There they 
found themselves among the Indians, a race 
always bitterly hostile to the white borderers, 
and easily excited to the most daring enter- 
prises. The tories stimulated these allies to deeds of /n ore than their 




384 



CAMPAIGN OF 1778. 




MASSACRE AT WYCillN'Q 



wonted barbarity. Wyoming', a flourishing- settlement on '.ne nn 
sylvan ia fro ntier, uas suddenly assailed, the slender n,i. tia ^orce 
which defended it overpowered, and the inhabitants exposed to ail 
the horrors of Indian vengeance and massacre. From the lateness 
of the season, only a few partial attempts could be made to retaliate. 
Next sprinof, however, General Sullivan was despatched with four 
thousand men, and joined by General Clinton with another division 
from the Mohawk river. They entered the territory of the Indians, 
who, quite unable to resist so large a force, abandoned their homes 
and fied before them. The villages were then reduced to ashes, 
every trace of cultivation obliterated, and the region rendered as 
much as possible uninhabitable. This rigour is said to have been 
authorized by Washington, and justified en the ground that without 
interposincr a desert between the states and this savage race, no 
security could be enjoyed on the frontier. 

During: the sumnier of 177S, the Indians, who had become very 
troublesome on the borders of Virginia, received a severe check from 
Colonel George Rogers Clarke. With a body of Virginia militia 
this officer penetrated to the British settlements on the Mississippi, 
captured the town of Kaskaskias, and made prisoner Colonel Hamil 



INDIAN INCURSIONS. 



B85 




COLONEL SBORaa R CLARS"3. 

Ion, the English commander of that quarter. This decisive measure 
put an end to Indian barbarities in that region. 

Similar incursions took place at the south. A body of refuorees 
from Florida entered Georgia, and summoned Colonel Mcintosh, 
commandant of the fcrt at Sunbury, to surrender; but on receiving 
his answer to cnme and take him, they hastily retired. Another 
party from the same place, after laying waste a large tracuf country, 
and carrying ofT all the negroes, horses, cattle and plate, belongino^ 
to the planters, and burning the town of Midway, retired into Florida, 
General Robert Howe determined to retaliate these attacks, and 
marched against St. Augustine with two thousand troops, but sick 
ness obliged him to retreat. 

The British commander-in-chief now concerted a plan for obtaining 
possession of Georgia, by invading it with two separate bodies of 
troops. Fur this purpose, Major-general Prevost was to march from 
St. Augustine, with his whole force, and invade the south, whilst 
Lieutenant-colonel Campbell, with two thousand five hundred men 
from New York, mvested Savannah. On the 23d of December, the 
latter appeared in the river, and effected a landing, without much 
opposition. To defend the state. General Robert Howe had about 

49 2 K 



386 



CAMPAIGN OF 177^. 




CAPTAIN BIDDLB 



SIX hundred continental soldiers, and two hundred and fifty militia, 
and with this force he had taken a very advantageous position, sur- 
rounded, except in front, by a swamp, river, and morass ; and the 
nature of the place was such, that had he been attacked in front, he 
could have easily defended himself. A negro, however, being aware 
of a small private path, through the morass, which led to the rearot 
the American army, conducted a detachment of light-infantry, under 
Sir James Baird, upon the rear, while an attack was made in front. 
Thus the Americans were* completely entrapped. Although they 
fought desperately, upwards of one hundred were killed, and four 
hundred and fifty-three prisoners, forty-eight pieces of cannon, 
twenty-three mortars, the fort, the shipping in the river, and a large 
quantity of provisions, fell into the hands of the conquerors. The 
remainder of the American army retreated into South Carolina. 
Augusta and Sunbury fell into the hands of the British, who now 
had the command of all Georgia. 

After this time, all the attempts of the British at conque=-t were 



NATAL ENGAGEMEXTS. 



381 




d'rected from tne si^uthern towards the middle states ; and Clmton 
determined to ccmim.ence tlie campaign cf !7T9. by an attempt to 
(-lant the royal standard in the fortresses of the Carolinas. 

Meanwhile the American navy, which was soon to dispute suc- 
cessfully with the mjistress of the sea, had already becun to distin- 
guish itself. Vast numbers of British merchantmen and West India 
ships were captured by privateers. One of the most successful naval 
olficers of the time was Captain Nicholas Biddle, of Philadelphia.. 
Aft(-r many biill'ant achievements, he sailed from. Charleston. March, 
1778, in the Randolph, of thirty-six guns and three hundred and 
fifteen men. Accompanying him were the Genera! ultrie, the 
Pclly. the Fair American, and the Notre Dame. On the night of 
March 7, he encountered the Yarmouth, of sixty-four guns, and 
engaged her without knoAving; the disparity of force. In the 
early part of the acticn he was wounded, but causing a cha'r to be 
brought, he remained with his men for about twenty minutes, when 
the Randolph blew up. carrying with her the gallant Biddle, and all 
his crew save four. Tlie reniaining part of the squadron escaped,, 
tlie Yarmouth beino- too much crippled to give chase. 

In th's year, ihe celebrated John Paul Jones resolved to take ad- 
vantage of the unprotected state in which the British were in the 
nabit of leaving their own coast. Accordingly, he sailed in the 
Hanger of eighteen guns, around the coasts of Scotland and Ireland, 
and finally, after taking several prizes, he was attacked by the 
Drake, a twenty gun ship, the captain of which, after hearing of a 
descent which Jones had made on White Haven, sailed out of the 
harbour of Carrickfergus with many more than his usual complement 
of men, whilst Jones had lost nearly half of the men which he had 
n the Ranger when he first set sail. The remainder had been se 



388 



CAMPAIGN OP 1778. 



away in prizes. The two vessels engaged within pistol-shot, and 
alter sixty-five minutes close fighting, the captain and first-lieutenant 
of the Drake were both dead, and the vessel was compelled to strike 
her colours. Besides these two brave officers, the enemy lost up- 
wards of forty men in the action. Jones sailed for Brest in his prize, 
where he anchored on the 7th of May, after an absence of twenty- 
eight days, during which time he had taken two hundred prisoners. 
Of on^* hundred and twenty-three men with him when he sailed, 
only two were with him when he anchored at Brest, the reniainder 
having been distributed among his many prizes. Jones's chief ob- 
ject in this cruise was to capture as many prisoners as possible, in 
order, by exchanging, to obtain the release of the American prisoners 
in England and America, of which the number was large. In this 
object he coinoietely succeeded. 




"OMIfOCOaX PAUL JOWUS'S SS.'iCllNI t>N -WHITBHATST* 




CHAPTER XXXIl. 

CAMPAIGN OF 1779. 

EVERAL of the 

late operations of 
the American ar- 
my owed much 
of their efficiency 
to the admirable 
training of Baron 
Steuben, a Prus- 
sian officer who 
had served un- 
der Frederick the 

Grpnt, and had joined the American standard in December, 1777, 
His exact discipline contrilated largely to the ultimate success of 
the war. 

The attention of Congress and of the commander-in-chief was now 
called to plans for the campaign of 1779. The former, looking tc 
iheir previous successes, and the powerful co-operation of France, 

49 2k 2 389 




590 



CAMPAIGN OF 1779. 



cherished the most brilh'ant expectatirn?, and had formed sch^^me? 
tru]y magnificent. Concluiing that the English '.v. uld be spceiily 
expelled, or would of their own accord depart from Amenca, the chief 
object was to be the invasion of Canada, from three different j o nts, 
the French being invited to co-operate. Washington, on leaining 
this vast design, took the utmost pains to prove its futility, and it was 
finally abandoned. 

In fact, both the civil and military strength of the union was now 
at a lower ebb than at any time since the struggle commenced. The 
members of Ccng^ress had originally consisted of the ablest men in 
America, animated by the most ardent zeal, and implicitly obeyed by 
all the votaries of their cause. After the Declaration of Independence, 
however, a new modification of the government was considered ne- 
cessary. A constitution was drawn up, and, after many delays and 
difficulties, brought into operatim, early in 1779, under which the 
state legislatures were invested with all the mcst important powers, 
resigning only a few which were jud<:ed indispensable for united 
action. Congress still retained the direction of foreign affairs, of the 
war, and consequently of the naval and military force; but to furnish 
men and supplies for these services they had no resource, except 
requisitions addressed to the slate leo^islatures. The latter had the 
complete option whether they should or should not comply, and had 
many motives which strongly inclined them to the latter alternative : 
indeed compliance could only be afforded by measures very unpopu- 
!-ir. and which would have much disobliged their constituents. The 
demands cf Consress were thus only partially and unequally fulfilled, 
and the levies never approached the amount at which they were 
nominally fixed. 

The financial state cf the country, too, was embarrassing in the 
extreme. The colonists, at the beginning of the war, had been very 
little accustomed to any serious taxation ; and having taken arms 
expressly to resist it, would have ill brooked paying a larger amount 
for their expenses than Britain had ever demanded. It was not till 
November, 1777. that Congress ventured to make a requisition of five 
millions of dollars annually, to which the states but faintly responded. 
France and Spain gave some assistance, first in gift, and then in loan; 
but as their own finances grew embarrassed, these contributions be- 
came very stinted. The comrniss'oners endeavoured to treat for loans 
with European capitalists, especially in Holland, and with this view 
drew a flattering picture of the future prosperity of the new republic, 




and her ultimate power to repay even the largest advances; but the 
Dutch were not inclined to be satisfied with such security, and mo- 
ney could be got only in small amount, and on exorbitant terms. One 
house made a somewhat liberal offer, but on condition of carrying on 
the whole trade of the Union, and holding all its real and personal 
property in mortgage. In these circumstances, the States had no 
resource except paper-money. In 1775, they issued three millions 
of dollars; and this moderate amount being easily absorbed in the cir- 
culation, proved an available resource. They were thus encourageo 
to pour forth repeated issues, which at the beginning of 1779 had 
risen to above a hundred millions, and in the course of the year to 
double that amount, which the}'- had pledged themselves not to ex 
ceed. The necessary consequence was a depreciation of the notes 
lo about a fortieth of their nominal value, and hence a miserable 
derangement in all mercantile and money transactions. The evil 
was aggravated, too, by preposterous remedies. The paper at its 
nominal value was made a legal tender for all debts ; and by this 
iniquitous measure, which Washington deeply regretted, many cre- 
ditors, both public and private, were defrauded, but no permanent 
relief could be afforded. As the articles furnished to the army, hke 
all others, rose to an enormous nominal value, they were so ignorant 
as to fix a maximum, above which they should not be received. The 



392 



CAMPAIGN OF 1779. 




consequence was, that at this inadequate rate none could be got; and 
the army would have perished had not this absurd regulation been 
rescinded. 

J^lN Europe, however, a transaction took place highiy 
auspicious to the American cause. Spain, after long 
hesitation, determined to join the confederacy; and, 
on the 12th April, 1779, concluded for that purpose 
a secret treaty with France. She had for soniC lime 
offered and even pressed herself as a nied-ator, 
having ultimately proposed ai congress of all thf^ con- 
tending powers at Madrid, and during the negotia- 
tion, a general suspension of arms ; but as it was made a condition 
that in the mean time the colonies were to remain actually inde- 
pendent, Britain, though without expressing any hostile feeling, de- 
clared such terms inadmissible. The other party, however, was not 
disposed to stop here. On the 16th June, D'Almadovar, the Spanish 
ambassador, took his departure, after delivering a note, complaining 
not only of the rejection of his sovereign's friendly overtures, but of 
sundry violences committed on his subjects in the course of the war, 
and for which he was determined to seek redress. This was followed 
by a long manifesto, in which grievances were enumerated to the 
number of eighty-six, and the necessity stated of reducing the Bri 
tish maritime power. These documents were socn answered by 
letters of marque, followed by open war. 

■"d^ HEIR interior strength, as already observed, by no 
i ^ means corresponded with the splendour of their foreign 
relations; and Washington liad clearly demonstrated 
to Congress the expediency of confining themselves 
to a defensive warfare. Clinton, on the other hand, 
did not attempt lo penetrate far into the interior from New York ; 
but engaged in some extensive expeditions for the destruction of stores 
and shipping. The most important was undertaken in May by a 
squadron under Sir George Coilyer, upon whom the command of the 
naval force had now devolved, and having on board eighteen hundred 
men commanded by General Matthews. The object was the naval 
yard at Gosport on the Chesapeake, with the military stores and 
shipping at Portsmouth and Norfolk, the two chief seats of commerce 
in Virginia. The only defence was a fort with one hundred and 
fifty men on Elizabeth river near Portsmouth ; and this garrison, zon- 
lidering themselves too weak to resist, fled into a morass called the 




CAPTURE OF STOXY POINT. 



395 




CAPTURE OF STOls-Y POINT BY 



GENERAL 



TV f Y N E. 



Dismal Swamp. The British took up their head-quarters there ; and 
in the course of a few days made a complete s^Yeep of every thing 
that was to be found on this range of coast, destroying or takmg. one 
hundred and twenty-seven vessels, and other property valued at half 
a million sterling. Clinton, however, very judiciously did not du'ide 
his army by any permanent establishment. 

Immediately on their return to New York, the fleet and army were 
employed in an expedition on the Hudson. Kingsferry, about sixty 
miles up, and near the entrance of the highlands, formed the most 
convenient communication across the river for Washmgton's army, 
whose Winers occupied both banks. It was defended by two opposite 
torts, Stony Point and Verplank's Point, which were both attacked. 
The first, being unfinished, was at once evacuated ; and the garrison 
of the other, after a vain attempt at resistance, was obliged to surren- 
der. Clinton caused the two places to be put in a state of defence • 
but operations were not pushed farther in this direction. 

The next enterprise was against the coast of Connecticut, which 
had been a very extensive and successful theatre of privateermg 
operations; and on the 3d July, two thousand six hundred men sailed 
under Sir George Collyer and General Tryon, governor of New \ork. 
New Haven was soon captured, the militia making a vain attempt v 



396 



CAMP-ATGN OF 1779. 



res St. There is stated to have been an intention to burn the tovrn 
which was chanired into the n.ere seizure of the stores and vessels 
At Fa rneld and Norwalk.a greater r^r-sistance was encountered; and 
beth these places were nearly reduced to ashes. A proposed attack 
on New London was interrupted by a counter-project of Washing- 
ton, who was anxious to do something to efface the impression of so 
many losses. It beinsr understood that the newly-captured forts on 
the Hudson were hitle apprehensive of any attack, General Wayne 
was sent with a detachment, and reached Stony Point undiscovered 
at midnight of the loth July, when, after a desperate but short strag- 
gle, he carried the place. The garrison, five hundred and forty-three 
in number, were made pris^'-ners, and treated with great humanity. 
The opposite fort was also attempted, but without success; and the 
first, being then thought untenable, was demoliched and abandoned ; 
but Clinton re-cccupied and repaired it. 

An ex[editicn was also sent in June f om Biston against a station 
rn the river Penobscot, formed by a detachment under Colonel 
Maclean from Nova Scotia. Above three thousand militia, under 
General Lovell, effected a landing on the peninsular point occupied 
by the English ; but the works appeared to him too strong to be car- 
ried with ut the aid of regular troops, which were promised by 
General Grt^tes. Before their arrival, however, Sir George Collyer 
appeared in the river with a squadrm from New York, when Lovell 
re-embarked his trcof s, and formed with his ships a crescent across 
the river, making a show of resistance, till, seeing his adversary 
bearing up with supericr force, he t. ok to fl crht, and having no re- 
treat, his fiee: of six frigates acd nine sn^alier vessels was entirely 
destroyed. The men escaped on shore, but had to penetrate through 
a kng extent of desert, in which many perished. This blow was 
com; ensaied by the surprise of Pov.Ies iHcok. a f:rt immediately 
opposite to New York. Being far within the British lines, the com- 
mander yielded to a culpatie security, from which, about three in the 
morning cf the ISih August, ihe was roused by Major, afterwards 
Brigadier-General. iHenry Lee. who entered the place without re- 
sistance, and made cne hundred and fifty-nine prisoners. Circum 
stances did net ailow the cap:cr lo retain it, and he f.und seme diffi- 
culty m retreating. 

Ccns'rTSS, n- eantime, had planned the reduction of East Florida, 
and htnce had recaiied General R/ter: iHowe, supplying his place 
Ly Lincoln, an cfncer of niuch hight-r reputation, who tad been 




second under Grates against Burgoyne. He found every thing in tne 
most unprepared state ; and, before being able to put any force in 
motion, learned the total defeat of his predecessor, and the conquest 
of Georgia, which are noticed in the former chapter. Lincoln could 
then aim only at covering South Carolina ; and the river Savannah 
formed so strong a barrier, that the British general did not attempt 
to cross. Meantime, about seven hundred royahst refugees, who had 
been driven to take sheker among the Indians, attempted to rejoin the 
king's forces. Being attacked, however, by Colonel Pickens with a 
body of mihtia. Colonel Boyd, their commander, was killed, and only 
three hundred reached their destination. Several of the prisoners 
were tried and put to death. 

Lincoln, encouraged by this success, and being daily reinforced, 
caueed General Ashe with fourteen hundred men to cross the Sa- 
vannah, and take post at its junction with Briar Creek, a stream un- 
fordable for some miles up, and appearing completely to secure his 
front. It was thus hoped to exclude the English from Augusta and 
all the upper territories. Colonel Prevost, however, brother to the 
general, making a circuit of fifty miles, and crossing at fords fifteen 



898 



CAMPAIGX OF 1779. 




miles above, came unexpectedly on the rear of this body, and totally 
routed them — the regular troops, after attempting resistance, being all 
sither killed or taken. Notwithstanding this disaster, Lincoln, again 
reinforced, determined to proceed with his main body against Augusta. 
Prevost, instead of a long and harassing march in that direction, 
sought to recall him by a movement against Charleston ; but intend- 
ing only a feint, he proceeded with a leisure which he found reason 
to regret, as it appears had all practicable speed been employed, that- 
capital would have fallen into his hands. The alarm, however, had 
been given, and such active preparations made, that he did not ven- 
ture to attack, but distributed his troops in the neighbouring island 
uf St. John. Lincoln, who had hastened down, made an attempt fjo 
beat up his quarters, without success; and the midsummer heat 
causing a suspension of military operations, the British troops retired 
unmolested into Georgia. 

This state of affairs m the southern colonies called imperiously for 
the attention of Congress, and Washington found it necessary to de- 
lach thither some part even of his reduced army. He solicited more 



SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 



399 



powerful aid from D'Estaing, who commanded in the West Indies an 
army sufficiently powerful to crush the English in Georgia. 

^fe HE French admiral received this application 
^ ^^ =^^^ just after having fought a hard baitle against 

Commodore Byron, which obliged the latter 
to go into port to refit. The former being 
thus for a time master of the sea, determined 
at once to comply with the request, took on 
board six thousand land-troops, and steered 
direct for Savannah, where he captured a 
fifty-gun ship and three frigates. Prevost had 
his force broken up into detachments distributed along the frontier; 
but these were ordered in so promptly, that before the French had 
landed and formed a junction with Lincoln, nearly all had arrived. 
On the 16th September, D'Estaing appeared before the place and 
summoned it to surrender. Prevost, under pretext of negotiation 
obtained a suspension for twenty-four hours, during which Colonel 
Maitland entered with the last and. largest detachment, eluding Lin- 
coln ; and the full determination to resist was then announced. The 
allies, on reconnoitering the works, deemed it imprudent to attempt 
them by storm, and were obliged to wait a few days till the heavy 
ordnance and stores could be brought from the fleet. They broke 
ground on the 2;3d Sej)tember; but the defence was conducted with 
great vigour and skill, under the direction of Major Moncriefl" ; so that 
notwithstanding some progress made by the 1st October, an interval 
must still elapse before surrender could be expected. D'Es:aing then 
refused to adventure his fleet longer on this insecure coast, in a tem- 
pestuous season, and while liable to attack from the British squadron 
refitted and reinforced ; yet before departing, he offered to concur in 
an attempt to carry the place by storm. This was agreed to ; and a 
hollow way being observed, by which troops could advance to within 
fifty yards of the wall, four thousand five hundred men, the flower 
of the combined army, undertook to penetrate it, while the rest 
amused the garrison by feigned attacks. This party pushed on with 
great vigour; they had even crossed the ditch, mounted the parapet, 
and planted their standards on the wall. Being here exposed, how 
ever, to a tremendous fire from works well constructed and com' 
pletely manned, they soon gave way; Count Pulaski was killed, and 
a brisk attack by Major Glaziers drove the whole back into the hol- 
low. They then renounced the ittack, having sustained the severe 




400 



CAMPAIGN OF 1779. 




DEATH OP PULASKI 



loss of seven hundred French and two hundred and thirty-four Ame- 
ricans killed and wounded ; while that of the besieged was only fifty- 
five. The French admiral no longer paused in embarking his troops 
and sailing for the West Indies; thus a second time disappointing 
sanguine expectations, and leaving the American cause in a worse 
state than before. 

During the summer, a squadron was fitted out by the American 
commissioners of Paris, the command of which was given to Commo- 
dore John Paul Jones. He sailed from Port L'Orient, in July, in the 
Bon Homme Richard of forty guns, accompanied by the AUiance 
thirty-six, the Pallas, thirty-two, and the Vengeance, twelve. 

After capturing several vessels on the coast of Scotland, he threat- 
ened to lay the town of Leith under contribution; but a storm coming 
on, he set sail, and directed his course to Flamborough Head. On 
the night of the 23d of September, while cruising off the Head, he 
fell in with the Serapis, of forty-four guns, which was convoying the 
Baltic fleet, in company with the frigate Countess of Scarborough. 
The people of the surrounding country w^ere gathered on the heights 
about the Head, and witnessed the novel scene. The Serapis had 
every advantage over the Richard in the number and calibre of guns, 
and in being more manageable than her antagonist. This advan 



CAPTURE OF THE SERAPTS. 



401 




CA-PTURB OF THB SERAPIS 



lag-e was 'omewhat lessened, however, by the Serapis running her 
oowspri^ between the poop and mizzen-mast of the Bon Homme 
Richard ;vhen Jones, with his own hands, lashed it fast, and brought 
the two vessels together. The ships were thus engaged from half- 
past eip'U till half-past ten, the muzzles of their guns touching each 
other's .ides. One of the men on the Bon Homme Richard carried a 
oasket jf hand-grenades out on the mainyard, and threw them among 
the crew of the Serapis. At half-past eight, one of these combusti- 
bles exploded a cartridge-magazine, blew up among the people abaft 
the main-mast, and rendered all the guns on that side useless. The 
two ships were frequently on fire during the action, and the spectacle 
was inexpressibly awful. At last Captain Pearson of the Serapis 
struck his flag, when Jones immediately transferred his crew on 
board of her, as the Bon Homme Richard was in a sinking condition. 

Whilst the action between the two larger vessels was maintained, 
the Pallas engaged, and, after two hours' fighting, compelled the 
Countess of Scarborough to surrender. On the 25th, the Bon Homme 
Richard, after every exertion on the part of Commodore Jones to save 
her, went down. Jones sailed for Holland with his prizes, and on 
the 3d of October anchored off' the Texel, having taken during the 
short cruise prizes estimated to amount to more than £40,000. 

In 1780, Commodore Jones took command of the Ariel, a small 
store-ship of twenty guns, and sailed for the United States ; but, 
losing his masts in a gale, he was obliged to return to L'Orient to 
refit; and, thus delayed, he did not reach America until February, 
1781. Jones was honoured with the thanks of Congress, and a gold 
meJ'-il was struck in commemoration of the victory over the Serapis. 

51 2l2 




CHAPTER XXin. 

CAMPAIGN OF 1780. 





EXERAL CLINTON had 
determined to begin opera- 
j tions on a great scale m 
the southern states. Re- 
cent information showed 
them to be m^^re defenceless, and the 
inhabitants better inclined to the British 
dominion, than those on the great north- 
ern theatre of war; while their reduc- 
tion might facilitate that of the others, 
or at all events preserve for Britain pn 
important portion of her American ter- 
ritory. He had recently obtained a reinforcement from England, 
and had withdrawn the force hitherto stationed with little advantage 
upon Rhode Island. On the 26th of Tecember, 1779. leaving Knyp- 

402 



SIEGE OF SAVAXXATT. 



403 




hausen with troops sufficient to deft^nd New York aeamst the army 
of Washington, he sailed with five thousand men for Savannah. 

HE voyage was prolonged till the 
end of January ; some of the ves- 
sels were wrecked, and nearly aJl 
the horses perished. He exerted 
himself actively to repair these 
losses; and by the middle of Febru- 
ary he re-em! arked and landed at 
St. John's Island, near Charleston, 
Some tmie was spent in recruiting 
and reinforcingr his troops and re- 
niounting his cavalry ; while Lincoln was actively strengthening the 
garrison, and restorino- the works \\h ch. since the memorable attack 
in May, had fallen into almost complete decay. He raised two 
thousand regulars, one thousand militia, and a great body of armed 
citizens ; but the chief hope rested on preventing the British from 
crossing the bar; but the fleet, under a favourable wind and tide, 
passed with scarcely anv opposition. Lincoln then seriously delibe 
rated on evacuating the place and saving his army ; but he dreaded 
popular reproach, and was buoyed up with promises of re-inforce- 
ments that never arrived. On the 1st of April, Clinton crossed the 
Ashley, which, with Cooper river, enclf-ses the peninsula of Charles- 
ton, and broke ground before the city. On the 9th, the first parallel 
was completed; yet the garrison still communicated with the country 
by their cavalry at M mks' Corner, about th;rty miles up Cooj/er 
river. Colonel Tarleton surprised and defeated this body. The 
British soon after received a remforcement of tnree thousand ; when 
Lincoln seriously propr^ed an attempt to extricate his army ; but the 
principal inhabitants, entertaining a well-founded dread of ill-treat- 
ment from the capt' rs, prevailed upon him only to offer a capitala 
tion on condition of the garrison being still allowed to serve. This 
proposal was at once rejected ; the siege was steadily pushed ; all 
the outward posts successively fell ; and the third parallel being 
completed, preparations were made for a general assault. Lir> 
coin, then seeing his situation hopeless, submitted to the terms 
proffered by the victor, that all the military stores should be given 
up, the regular troops made prisoners of war, while the militia, 
on giving their parole, might return and remain unmolested al 
■heir homes. The prisoners tak\?n were stated by Clinton at fivfe 



CAMPAKIN OF 17?0. 




TAALETON SQUARTHl KS. 



thousand six hundred and eighteen, with one thousand seannen and 
three hundred and eleven ])ieces of ordnance. 

Clinton now published a proclamation, promising to the people a 
rrneual of all their former privileges, with the addition of not being 
taxed unless by their own consent. Soon after, he issued another, 
absolving the militia from their paroles, and calling upon them to join 
with other citizens in aidino; the British cause. This step was an 
outrageous breach of faith, and at once roused the whole southern 
country into determined resistance of their faithless oppressors. 

On the 5th of June, Clinton set sail for New York, leaving Lord 
Cornwallis with four thousand men to secure, and if he could, extend 
his conquests. Detachments had already been sent up the principal 
rivers. Savannah, Saluda, and Santee. On the last only, a party of 
four hundred, under Colonel Bnford, was rapidly retreating. Though 
ten days in advance, they were overtaken by the rapid march of 
Tarleton, and at Waxhaws completely routed and dispersed. • Tarle- 
ton caused a massacre of nearly the whole detachment, and ttiu,^ 
gave rise to the term Tar1eton''8 quarters, which was current during 
the remainder of the war. The principal force of the enemy was 
then advanced to Camden on the vVateree, near the frontier of North 
(!^arol'na ; but the intense heat, with the difFculty of provisioning 



DE KALB AT^D GATES. 



405 




r.he army till the corn was on the ground, rendered a delay necessary. 
The Tories in that province were advised to remain quiet till a 
powerful support could be brought forward ; but their furious zeal 
could not be restrained, and broke out in several insurrections, which 
were suppressed and punished with a rigour tending to deter from 
similar attempts in future. 

Extreme alarm was felt by the American government on receiving 
intelligence of these events ; and amid the greatest obstacles, it was 
necessary to make vigorous efforts to retrieve their affairs. Wash- 
ington made arrangements for the march of the troops in Maryland 
and Delaware, and for calling out the militia of Virginia and North 
Carolina. He placed them under the Baron de Kalb, a veteran 
German officer ; but Congress soon after conferred the chief command 
on Gates, hoping that the conqueror of Burgoyne might again turn 
the tide of fortune. Notwithstanding the utmost despatch, the want 



40b' 



CAMPAIGN or ITb'J. 



of money, military stores, and provisions;, detained him so long-, that 
thoufii the exfiedition set out in March, it was the beginning of 
August before he could approach Camden, with about four thousand 
men, most'y militia. H"e advanced in the determination to push 
rigorously offensive operations, hoping to induce Lord Rawdon to 
fall back upon Charleston. That officer, however, had -j'ren notice 
to Cornwallis, who hastened to the spf.t, and though his force 
was little more than two thousand, he resolved without hesitation 
to attack. He had set out in the night of the loth, with a view 
to surprise the Americans, when, by a singular concurrence, he met 
Gates in full march with the same design against himself. The ad- 
vanced guard of the latter was driven in, when both parties thought it 
advisable to postpone the general action till daylight. In the Ameri- 
rnn h'ne, Kalb, with most of the regulars, commanded on the right, 
w h;le the militia of Carolina formed the centre, and that of Virginia 
the left. The conflict began with the last, who were attacked by the 
British infantry, under Colonel Webster, with such impetuosity, 
that thev threw down their arms and precipitately fled. The whole 
cf tlie left and centre also fled. Gales himself retreated till he 
reached Charlotte, eighty miles distant. 

EANTIME, Kalb, on the right, opposed to Lord 
Rawdon, long and firmly maintained his ground, 
gaining even some advantage; and it was not 
till the victorious divisions had wheeled round 
against him, that his corps was broken and dis- 
persed. He himself, covered with wounds, be- 
came a captive, and, notwithstanding every care, 
expired in a few hours. About one thousand prisoners were taken, 
and the whole army was scattered. Gates erred in fighting a pitched 
battle with an army consisting ch^'efly of militia, and in having com 
j)C5ed of them so great a part of his regular line, instead of merely 
eiiiploying them to skirmish on his front and flanks ; but, in fact, 
his veteran force seems to have scarcely sufficed for a duly extended 
order of battle. 

Meantime, the patriots in South Carolina had begun to rise at dif- 
ferent points. The militia, complaining that the terms granted had 
nt't been duly observed, deserted the British standard in masses : 
c ne Colonel Lisle carried with him a whole battalion. Thus were 
assembled, under Crionel (afterwards General) Sumpter, an active 
j)orii5an, upwards of six hundred, raised by a detachment from the 




SUMPTER SURPRISED. 



407 




OaNSRAL SUMPTHH. 



mam army to about one thousand. He was repulsed in attacks 
upon the stations called Rocky Mount and Hanging Rock ; but, on 
the evening before the battle of Camden, succeeded in carrying a 
strong redoubt on the Wateree, taking above one hundred prisoners. 
On learning the fatal issue of that day, he instantly began his re- 
treat, and reached with such celerity the fords of the Catawba, thai 
he considered himself safe, and allowed his men to repose during the 
heat of the day. Tarleton was sent m pursuit. His rapidity was 
such, that the greater part of his corps could not follow him from 
fatigue; but with one hundred and sixty only he came up, and 
found Sumpter's party completely unprepared, their videttes asleep, 
and the men lying apart from their arms. Roused from slumber by 
the attack of the enemy, they scarcely attempted resistance ; and 
after a short struggle, about half were captured, the others dispersed. 
They lost one hundred and fifty killed and wounded, besides three 
hundred and ten prisoners ; all their stores were taken, and the 
British captives recovered. 

Cornwallis, having thus become master of a considerable number 
of prisoners, put many of them to death, and thus exasperated the 
war into one of extermination. 

After a few weeks' delay on account of the heat, the Britisb 
general advanced to Charlotte Town, in North Carolina. Meantime 

61 



408 CAMPAIGN OF 1780. 

a corps of about sixteen hundred Tory militia having been assembled, 
under Major Ferguson, he was directed to move westward, and clear 
the territory along the fo-t of the mountains. He was led farthei 
in this direction by the movements of a party of patriots which 
threatened Augusta, where he approached and roused into actirn a 
class of terrible foes to the British cause. The borderers, who roved 
along the sides of the Alleghany, were if possible ruder and bolder 
than the boys of the Green Mountains. They rode on light fleet 
horses, carrying only their rifle, a blanket, and knapsack. Food was 
procured by the gun, or, on its occasional failure, from a small herd 
of cattle driven behind them. At night, the earth was their bed, the 
sky their canopy. They thus moved with a swiftness which no 
ordinary troops could rival. 

— ' ERGUSON, after receiving orders from 
Lord Cornwallis to move westward, at- 
tempted to relieve Augusta, then threat- 
ened by a band of patriots under Colonel 
Clarke ; and thus roused against him 
those terrible antagonists of the Tories 
— the border settlers. These men came 
down suddenly upon Ferguson. He eom- 
menced a hasty retreat from Charlotte 
ville ; but several bands under Colonels Williams, Campbell, Shel- 
by, and Tracy, having united together, began a rapid pursuit 
Halting at Gilbert town, they selected sixteen hundred of their best 
riflemen, and hurrying on, overtook the Tories encamped at King's 
Mountain. Arranging themselves in three divisions, under Colonels 
Cleaveland, Shelby, and Campbell, they attacked by turns, and on 
being repulsed, retired but a little distance, re-formed, and again 
advanced. Ferguson charged again and again with the bayonet. 
Repulse only inspired his assailants to greater exertions, and after 
an hour's fighting, he fell, mortally wounded, and his surviving 
troops, numbering eight hundred, surrendered. One hundred and 
fifty fell dead in the action, and as many more were wounded. 
Fifteen hundred stand of arms were also captured ; the American 
loss was small : but among the dead was the lamented Colonel 
Williams. 

During these operations in the south, General Washington was so 
cramped in resources for supplying the army, and surrounded by 
difficulties of so formidable a nature, that he found it impossible to 




STATE OF THE ARMY 



401 




BA.TTLS OF SriiJs'a MOUNTAIN. 



attempt offensive operations of any magnitude. Many of the troops 
were in a starving condition, and all were so destitute of clothing as 
to be in danger, during the winter, of perishing with cold. Numbers 
of horses died or were rendered useless ; the pay of officers was de- 
preciated to a mere nominal value ; and the whole army had ceased 
to receive the promises of Congress with confidence. While these 
symptoms threatened the dissolution of the army, the term cf service 
of several of the regiments expired, and the greatest efforts were 
requisite to induce them to remain. 

It cannot be wondered at, that amid these appalling hardships, 
mutiny began to display itself. Tw^o Connecticut regiments paraded 
under arms, for the purpose of either obtaining subsistence by force, 
or returning home. After much persuasion, however, they were 
induced to return to duty. About the same time, papers from the 
enemy, containing promises of abundant food and pay, if they would 
desert to the British, were privately circulated among the soldiers ; 
but, to the honour of the American character, they were treated with 
uuer contempt. Notwithstanding this repulse, General Knyphausen 
crossed into New Jersey with five thousand men, in order to take 
advantage of circumstances ; but he was so roughly handled by both 
regulars and militia, that he retreated to Elizabethtown. Chnlon 

62 2M 



410 



CAMPAIGN OF 1780. 




COUNT DB ROCHAMBBA.CT. 



having arrived from Charleston, sent him a reinforcement, with which 
he again advanced toward Springfield. He was opposed by General 
Greene, and after a severe action, he burned the town and retired to 
New York. The loss of the Americans was about eighty men ; 
that of the enemy considerably more. 

^^V3 ^ ATE in the spring, the Marquis ae 

La Fayette returned from Frant? 
with the cheering intelligence that 
his government would shortly send 
a land and naval force to assist the Americans. 
^ He was enthusiastically received both by Con- 
gress and the people. In July, the first division 
of the promised fleet arrived at Long Island It 
consisted of seven ships, two frigates, a cutter, 
an armed hospital ship, and thirty-two transports, carrying in all six 
thousand men and five hundred and ninety guns. The land force 
was commanded by the Count de Rochnmbeau ; the fleet by the 




TREACHERY OF GIJNERAL ARNOLD. 



411 



Chevalier de Ternay. Such, however, was the scarcity of military 
stores among the Americans, that they were totally unprepared to 
act with their new allies ; and before supplies could be obtained, 
news came that the remainder of the French fleet was detained 
in the harbour of Brest by a blockade — thus blasting all the brillianl. 
hopes of ending the war in that campaign. 

In Septen)ber of this year, a plot was discovered which, happily 
for the honour of America, stands out as a solitary episode in our 
history. To understand its causes, we must glance back to events 
preceding the year 1780. It will be remembered that it was prin- 
cipally owing to the exertions of General Arnold, that the Americans 
gained the battle of Stillwater. He was there wounded in the leg, 
and being unfit for active service, was appointed commander at 
Philadelphia, after its evacuation by the British. Here an extrava- 
gant course of living soon involved him in debt, from which he 
sought to free himself by trade and privateering. This fuiing, 
he resorted to peculation. In July, 1779, he exhibited his accounts, 
with heavy demands against the public, half of which were rejected 
by coriimissioners appointed to examine them. He appealed to Con- 
gress ; but a comn)ittee from that body confirmed the commissioners' 
report. This led to some bitter reflections upon Congress ; and 
Arnold was at length tried by a court-martial, on charges preferred 
by the Governor of Pennsylvania, found guilty, and sentenced to be 
reprimanded by the con)mander-in-chief. This sentence was exe- 
cuted by Washington with becoming delicacy. 

Arnold now applied for the command of West Point, the strongest 
military station in possession of the Americans, and so situated as to 
defend the camps of the Americr.n army on both sides of the North 
river, as well as command the river itself, Washington, anxious to 
heal the general's lacerated feelings, wished to bestow upon him the 
command of the whole left wing, during the march of his army upon 
New York; but on the ajsertion of Arnold that his wound would 
not permit his engaging in active service, the command«r-in-chief 
readily granted him the superintendence of West Point. 

Being thus placed in possession of an important military post, 
Arnold began the prosecution of a scheme he had long meditated, 
which was no less than to surrender himself to the enemy, together 
with all the stores and troops under his command. After a secret 
negotiation with Sir Henry Clinton, through the agency of Major 
Andre, ad ju taut-general of the British army, he agreed to put thai 



112 . CAMPAIGN OF 1780. 




■WEST POINT. 



commander m possession of the fortress, by marching his troons into 
the neighbouring- defiles, while the enemy would enter through a 
designated pass. During this correspondence, Arp:)ld assumed the 
name of Gustavus, and Andre that of John Anderson ; while, to 
facilitate their operations, the Vulture sloop-of-war moved up the 
river and stationed itself as near as possible to West Point, without 
exciting suspicion. 

At this time General Washington, with Knox, La Fayette, and 
other officers, was at Hartford, concerting with the Count Rocham 
beau a plan of operations for the ensuing campaign. This was ar 
ranged on the 21st of September, 1780. On the same day, Andre 
arrived on shore from the Vulture with a surtoutover his reori mentals, 
and in a boat provided by Arnold. The latter met him at the house 
of a Mr. Smith. Day appeared before their conference was finished, 
and for fear of discovery, Andre was secreted within the American 
posts. On the following night, for some cause not well understood, 
the boatmen refused to return him to the Vulture, and Arnold fur- 
nished him with a pass to " permit John Anderson to go to the lines 
at White Plains, or lower if he thought proper, he being on public 
business." After safely passing the gua-ds and outposts, he was 
suddenly seized by three militia men. Instead of producing his 



CAPTURE OF MAJOP. ANDRE. 



413 




CAPTURE OF ANDRH. 



pass, he asked where they belonged ; and being answered " tn be- 
low," [New York,] he immediately replied, " So do I," adding that 
he was a British officer on urgent business. On searching his per 
son, they found in his boot papers in Arnold's handwriting, contain- 
ing full descriptions of the garrison and defences of West Point, and 
a copy of a report laid by Washington before a council of war on the 
6th of the month. Aware of his fatal mistake, Andre offered his 
captors a purse of gold, with his valuable watch and a large sum of 
money, should they permit him to pass ; but nobly disdaining these, 
they conveyed him to Colonel Jameson, commander of the militia in 
that quarter. This officer imprudently permitted Andre to write a 
letter to Arnold, informing him that Anderson was captured. The 
traitor was thus enabled to escape. Jameson forwarded a letter to 
General Washington, then on his road to West Point ; but it did not 
reach him until it was too late to arrest the fugitive. 

Mortified as was the whole army at the disclosure of this nefarious 
plot, it was a subject of rejoicing that Providence had so manifestly 
interposed to counteract it. Washington appointed a board of four- 
teen general officers to examine the case of Andre. On his own 
confession of the circumstances, they unanimously pronounced him 
a spy, and that agreeably to the laws of nations he should suffer 
death. Washington was obliged to acquiesce in this verdict. Every 
effort was made to save him by the British commander, and even by 

2 M 2 



CAMPAIGN OF 1780. 




MAJOB ANDKa. 



Arnold himself. Andre made but one request : it was that he might 
die as a soldier. This also Washington submitted to his ofTicers, 

but in their opinion it could not be granted ; and on the 2d of Octo- 
ber the youthful, but too pliable Andre expired on a gallows. The 
sympathy for him throughout the American camp was unexampled 
under any similar circumstances ; and his fate deeply afffcted the 
royal army. While the place of his execution was often moistened 
by the tears of his foes, the infamous Arnold was allowed to move a 
despised, insulted being, among those whom he had attempted to 
benefit, and finally to descend into the grave, unlamented and uncared 
for. The whole plan against West Point proved a total failure. 

In October, Clinton sent General Leslie to Chesapeake bay, with 
three thousand picked troops, to form a junction with Lord Corn- 
wallis. Some time after, he received orders from his lordship to join 
him at Charleston, which he did, thus swelling the forces at tha 
place to more than eleven thousand troops. 

In November, Major Talmadge with eighty men crossed Long 
Island Sound, and attacking Fort George, a British station on Long 
Island, captured it, together with a lieutenan -colonel, one captain, 
Rnd fifty-five privates. His loss was one man wounded ; that of the 
enrmy eight killed or wounded. 



REVOLT I^^ THE ARMY. 



415 



The hardships of the troops, during the winter of 17S0-'81, were 
equally fornnidable with those of the former year ; and the integrity 
of the arnny was again compromised by several instances of revolt. 
On the night of January 1, thirteen hundred of the Pennsylvania 
line stationed at Morristown seized their arms and marched towards 
Philadelphia, to demand redress from Congress. In attempting to 
quell this movement, one officer was killed and several wounded. 
General Wayne rode among them with a pistol in each hand ; but 
lie was told that if he fired he would be "s dead man." Electing 
temporary officers, the\'^ marched to Princeton in o^ood order, with 
their arms and six field-pieces. Here they were met by a deputation 
from Congress, who finally effected a compromise. Hearing of the 
defection, Clinton had hurried over emissaries to induce them to 
join the British : these were seized, delivered to General Wayne, 
and subsequently executed. A similar revolt by a part of the Jersey 
line was suppressed by the prompt execution of a few of the ring- 
leaders. 

As these revolts served to disclose to the nation the sufl^ering 
condition of her soldiers, the amount of three months' pay was raised 
by subscription and forwarded to them. This sum was joyfully re- 
ceived as an evidence of the share they still had in the sympathies 
and affections of their countrymen. 




rOSolUSKO S MONUMBNT AT WiST P O 1 ■ t 




CHAPTER XXXIV. 



CAMPAIGN OF 1781. 





HE campaign of 1781 was 
one of the most active of 
the Revolutionary war, and 
decided the contest in fa- 
vour of the Americans. 
Although commencing with little pros- 
pect of such success, yet by a series of 
unforeseen events, it enabled the Ameri- 
can commander to capture a large army, 
led by an able general, and so to weaken 
the forces of the enemy as to render all their subsequent efforts en- 
tirely nugatory, 

416 



SKIRMISH AT NINETY-SIX. 



41T 




COLONEL HOWARD. 



Immediately after the battle of Camden, Gates had appointed 
Morgan to the command of the light troops in the South. Greene 
retained him in this command, increasing his numbers to three hun- 
dred infantry under Colonel Howard, one hundred and seventy-five 
Virginia riflemen, and seventy of Colonel Washington's light dra- 
goons. With this force Morgan posted himself west of the Wateree. 
At the same time Marion was watching the Tories, near Charleston, 
Georgetown, and other posts. On the 27th of December, 1780, 
Morgan detached Colonel Washington with his dragoons and about 
two hundred militia to the neighbourhood of Ninety-Six, where, sur- 
prising a body of Tories, he killed one hundred and fifty of their 
number, and captured forty, with a large number of horses. Soon 
after Morgan was joined by two hundred and sixty militia, under 
Colonel Pickens and Major McDowell. 

Immediately after having been joined by General Leslie, Lord 
Cornwallis determined to drive Morgan from his post on the Wateree, 
and dispirit the inhabitants who were rising to join him. Tarleton 
was selected for this service, having nearly eleven hundred efficient 
royal troops and two field-pieces. After a rapid pursuit, during part 
of which Morgan retreated before him, the British officer came up 

53 



418 



CAMPAIGN OF 1781. 




BA-TTLB OT THE OOWPKNfl. 



With the Americans stationed in battle array at the Cowpens, about 
three miles from the division line between North and South Carolina. 
The militia were in front, and so arranged that if forced to retire, 
they could re-form in rear of Colonel Washington's mounted men, 
and charge their pursuers with the bayonet. A little before day- 
break of January 17, Tarleton appeared in sight, and without afford- 
ing his exhausted troops time to rest, ordered the attack. They 
rushed on with loud shouts, pouring in a heavy fire of musketry. 
The militia fell back ; the British pursued on to the second line, 
which also fell back. But at this critical moment. Colonel Howard, 
observing the enemy's confusion, charged their whole column with 
his regulars. Neatly at the same moment Colonel Pickens succeeded 
in rallying the militia, with whom he warmly seconded Howard's 
movement, i^imultaneously with these operations, Washington dashed 
among them with his cavalry. The whole command of the enemy 
were utterly routed ; on being promised quarter by Colonel Howaid, 
several hundred threw down their arms without offering resistance. 
A detachment left to guard the baggage was the only part of the 
infantry that escaped. Washington pursued Tarleton twenty miles 
and was once so near that he gave him a slight wound in the hand 



morgan's retreat. 



41^ 



The British lost ten commissioned officers and one hundred privates 
killed ; twenty-nine officers and two hundred privates wounded, and 
five hundred prisoners. The Americans had twelve men killed, and 
sixt}^ wounded. Upwards of eight hundred stand of arms, one hun- 
dred dragoon horses, thirty-five baggage wagons, and two standards, 
were among the trophies of victory. The Cowpens was to Corn- 
wallis what Bennington was to Burgoyne. 

The news of this event astounded Cornwallis; but with that ener 
getic promptitude for which he was so remarkable, he resolved to 
pursue Morgan so rapidly as to prevent his contemplated juncti(in 
with Greene ; and thus attacking him witJi a vastly superior force, 
while encumbered with his prisoners, he hoped to cut him off com- 
pletely, and neutralize the evil consequences of Tarleton's defeat 
Destroying nearly a!l his baggage, and retaining only a sufficient 
number of wagons to carry his wounded, he set out [January 19, 
1781] on his famous pursuit. But his vigilant antagonist, after send- 
ing the prisoners to Charlotteville, hurried on to the Catawba, which 
he succeeded in crossing [January 28] two hours before Cornwallis 
reached the opposite side. A heavy rain succeeded, which so 
swelled the waters of the river, that the British troops were detained 
two days, during which the prisoners had been advanced so far as to 
be out of reach. Morgan called out the neighbouring militia, and 
prepared to defend the passage of the river ; but on the 31st, General 
Greene suddenly appeared in camp, having ridden one hundred and 
fifty miles to join Morgan, and hasten the detachment to Hick's 
Creek, where he had left the main army under General Williams. 
After an ineffectual attempt to resist the passage of the river, Greene 
niarched toward the Yadkin, pursued so closely by Cornwallis, that 
the rear of one army was sometimes in sight of the other's van. The 
American general, however, succeeded in crossing safely, and joined 
the main army at Guilford Court-House, while another sudden rise 
of water prevented Cornwallis from following. But, instead of giving 
up the pursuit, he determined to keep in the upper country, inter- 
cept the retreat of the Americans over the Dan river into Virginia, 
and thus force them to a battle under great disadvantages. Greene's 
policy was to get into Virginia. In order to accomplish this, by 
checking Cornwallis, he sent seven hundred of his best troops, under 
Colonel Williams, who so harassed the pursuers as to compel them 
to march as compactly as possible during the whole route. On one 
occasion, Lieutenant-Colonel Lee made a furious charge upon their 



420 



CAMPAIGN OF 1781. 




OOLONBL WILLIAMa. 



advance cavalry, killing several, and securing a number of prisoners. 
Under cover of this party Greene hurried on to the Dan, marching 
sometimes forty miles a day, although his troops were barefoot. 
Providence again favoured his indefatigable exertions, and he crossed 
the river into Virginia in perfect security, having as spectators of his 
success the disconsolate Cornwallis, and his exhausted, dispirited fol- 
lowers. Greene secured all his boats on the opposite shore, so that 
further pursuit was impossible. During this retreat of more than 
two hundred miles, both armies suffered extremely from the incle- 
ment season, bad roads, heavy rains, want of tents, and scarcity of 
provisions. 

Cornwallis now marched to Hillsborough, where he erected the 
royal standard, and invited the inhabitants "to return to their alle- 
giance," and take up arms in the king's cause. Although this expe- 
riment had not the success he wished, yet several parties of Tories 
united under Colonel Pyle, and moved for Hillsborough. Tarleton 
was sent to escort them. On the 25th of February, they were met 
by a body of partisans under Lee and Pickens, and almost anni- 
hilated, A small number, in escaping, encountered Tarleton, who. 



BATTLE OF GUILFORD COURT-HOUSE. 



421 



naving heard the firing, was hurrying on to ascertain the cause 
Hoping to retrieve a part of the reputation lost at the Cowpens, thai 
offic<3r, with a laudable zeal, fell upon these Tories without ceremony, 
and, under the unfortunate idea of their being rebels, granted them 
the mercy usually bestowed by him upon an enemy. This lesson 
made the Tories more circumspect in trusting themselves to the 
clemency of British protection 

REENE had recrossed the 
Dan on the 21st and 22d, 
and after receiving a rein- 
forcement of six hundred 
men under Stephens, he 
for three weeks near Corn- 
ip, cutting off all his forag:ng 
finally obliging him to faii 
3 Haw river. Greene now. 
irther reinforcements, botla 
— regular and militia, swelling his arm) 
to four thousand two hundred men, of whom nearly twenty-five hun 
dred were militia. With these he took up a position at Guilford 
Court-House, where he drew up the army in three lines, and offered 
battie. The British advanced in three columns. By the rashness of 
a militia officer, the North Carolina militia, composing the first line 
were thrown into confusion, and retreated. The Virginia miHtia- 
fought with great bravery until ordered to retreat ; after which the 
regulars maintained the contest for an hour and a half. To save his 
rear, Greene then ordered a retreat, which was well conducted. Hi 
lost three hundred continentals, and one hundred Virginia militia t 
Cornvvallis had more than six hundred killed, wounded, or missing. 
Among the former were Colonels Stewart and Webster ; while Briga- 
dier-Generals O'Hara and Howard, with Colonel Tarleton, were 
wounded. Victory remained with the British ; but its advantages 
were altogether with their opponents. So crippled was Cornwallis,. 
that on the 21st he retreated towards Wilmington, leaving behind his 
hospital and wounded prisoners. Greene pursued as far as Ramsey's 
Creek, on the Deep river. By a strange and unexpected movement, 
his lordship, continuing his retreat, crossed into Virginia, and took 
post at Petersburg. 

Greene now formed the daring project of penetrating into South 
Carolina, for the purpose of driving the British from the strong chain 

27 2N 




422 



CAMPAT'-JX OF 17^1. 




COL0K3L ':^A3HIll3rOH 



of pos:s wnich they there occupied. As a preparatory movement 
Lee was sent forward to join Marion, which be did at the Santee. 
Their combined forces attacked Fort Watson, the most important posi 
belonging to the British in South Carolina. It was taken by con- 
structing near it an immense tower, from the top of which the Ame- 
rican riflemen picked off the garrison at such a rate that on the 2l3d 
they surrendered. 

On the 5th of April. Greene marched for Camden, which he 
reached on the 24th, and took up a position on Hobkirk's Hill. Hi? 
force was eleven hundred and eighty men, of whom two hundred 
and fifty were militia. That of the British garrison, under Lord 
Rawdon, was about nine hundred. The American general offered 
battle, which was accepted [April 151. Greene's dispositions were 
niade in his usual masterly manner ; and in the commencement of 
the action all the chances of victory were with him. But, suddenly, 
and without any apparent cause, the militia began a disorderly re- 
treat ; and. after a gallant struggle, Greene ordered the remainder of 
the army to retire. In the early part of the battle Colonel Washing- 
ton had secured nearly two hundred prisoners, fifty of whom he 
LTOU gilt off safely. Greene secured all his baggage, nearly all his 
T^i.unded, besides six British officers. The loss of the British was 



iiAlTi^E OF EUTAW SPRINGS. 



i23 




»wo hundred and fifty, that of the Americans about the same. The 
victory proved of no advantage to the enemy. Some few days after 
Elawdon attempted to surprise General Greene by night in his camp, 
out failed ; and cn the 10th of May he evacuated Caruden, and 
retired south of the Santee. 

HIS iriuniph on the part of the Americans was 
followed by others equally important. Or 
the 11th, Oranaeburgh, with its garrison 
f seventy loyal militia and twelve regu- 
lars, surrendered to Sumpter. Next day 
Fort Motte, defended by one hundred 
and sixty-five men, surrendered to Marion 
and Lee. The posts of Nelson's Ferry, 
Fort Granby, Silver Bluffs, Fort Cornwai- 
lis, and Georgetown, speedily fell into the hands of the American 
partisan officers. 

On the 24th cf May, General Greene laid siege to Ninety-Six. then 
garrisrned by Lieutenant-Colonel Cruger with five hundred men. 
The American officer pushed his advances with such vigour that in 
a few days his fourth work was within thirty yards of the ditch round 
the fort, a rifle battery ten yards high was erected, the abattis turned, 
and a mine sunk within six feet of the ditch. But, in the midst of 
these flattering prospects, he received information that Lord Rawdon 
was marching against him, stronelv reinforced by troops from Ireland. 
He therefore attempted to carry the works by storm [June IS] ; but 
failing, he withdrew his army across the Saluda, pursued by Raw- 
don as far as the Enoree. The American loss was about one hun 
dred and fifty men. It was in this siege that the Polish general 
Kosciusko particularly distinguished himself, and won the approba- 
tion and esteem of the American officers. 

While Rawdon was congratulating himself upon his success in 

having driven Greene out of South Carolina, Lee suddenly defeated 

one of his foraging parties within a mile of the British camp. He 

soon found that the general himself was approaching to give him 

battle. He immediately retreated to Oran^eburgh, and withdrew to 

his aid, Colonel Cruger, with the crarrison of Ninety-Six. This 

obliged the American general to retire to the hills of Santee, leaving 

Marion, Sumpter, and Lee, to cut off the British communication. 

This caused the enemy to abandon all their posts north of the Santee 

and ConfTaree, and to concentrate their lines near the junction of me 
53 ■ 



CAMPAIGN OF 1781. 




BATTLB or BTJTA-W SPRING 8. 



latter river with the Wateree. By still further manoeuvring, Greene 
drew them to the Eutaw Springs, where, on the 8ih of September 
he advanced and gave them battle. 

Greene's troops marched to the attack in two lines; the first com- 
posed of militia, the second of regulars. Two advance British par- 
ties were speedily driven in, and the battle became general. After 
an obstinate resistance, the American militia gave way; but the 
regulars warmly renewed the battle, charging with fixed bayonets 
amid heavy showers of cannon-shot and musketry. While Colonel 
Williams led the assault in front, Lee turned the enemy's flank and 
. rear. Their whole force was thrown into confusion, five hundred 
were made prisoners, and the remainder began a hurried retreat. 
A portion succeeded in entering a large three story brick house, from 
which they could not be dislodged ; in the effort to batter it down, the 
Americans lost four field-pieces and a considerable number of men. 
Next day Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart, the British commander, re- 
treated towards Charleston, leaving behind him seventy w^ounded men 
and one thousand stand of arms. His loss, including prisoners, was 
upwards of eleven hundred; that of the Americans was five hun- 
dred, of whom sixty were officers. The lamented Colonel Campbeli 
was mortally wounded, and died on the field, after being tcld that the 



EXECUTION OF COLONEL HAYNE. 



426 




LORD RAWDON. 



British were flying. Amid the heat of the battle the officers on each 
side fought hand to hand with their swords. This battle completely 
oroke the power of the British in South Carohna, and confined their 
subsequent operations to insignificant excursions along the sea-coast. 

During this summer, Lord Rawdon perpetrated a deed which has 
covered his name with infamy. It was the execution of Colonel 
Isaac Hayne. This officer, long distinguished in his native state for 
honesty, intelligence, and patriotism, had been taken prisoner at the 
siege of Charleston, but dismissed on his parol. In 1781 he was 
called upon, on pain of imprisonment, to sign a declaration of alle- 
giance to the British king, containing an obligation to take up arms 
in the royal cause. This he complied with, on condition of not being 
forced to adopt the latter portion. But when the English, in viola- 
tion of their express promise, called on him to repair to their stand- 
ard, he deemed the obligation cancelled, and joined his countrymen, 
by whom he was given the comtnand of a regiment. He afterwards 
fell into the hands of Lord Rawdon, who, after a mock trial by court* 
martial, sentenced him to be hung. Numbers of the British and 
oyalists. with Governor Bull at their head, petitioned for a remission 

64 2n2 



426 



CAMPAIGN OF 1781. 




Arnold's dbscbut on viroinia. 



of the sentence ; and even the motherless children of the victim fell 
on their knees before his lordship, petitioning him to spare their 
father's life. The colonel's son, a youth of thirteen, spent the last 
days of his parent's life with him in the prison, begging that he too 
might be executed ; but all this was not sufficient to move the Bri- 
tish leader's stony heart. On the lOih of August, 1781, Colonel 
Hayne perished on the scaffjld. 

Meanwhile the two main armies in the north were preparing for 
some decisive blow, which might either terminate the struggle, or 
give the victorious party a complete ascendency in that quarter. 
Fortunately for Congress, the financial affiiirs of the nation had oeen 
placed under the superintendence of Mr. Robert Morris, who soon 
placed them in a better condition than they had been in during the 
war. About the same time the continental currency ceased to circu- 
late, and loans of gold und silver were negotiated with France and 
the Netherlands. The army, this year, was in consequence better 
provided with clothing and ammunition than it had been during 
several campaigns. 

Soon after the departure of General Leslie, in 1780, Arnold was 
Bent against Virginia with sixteen hundred men and a considerable 
Dumber ol armed vesselr He ascended the Chesapeake, commit- 
ting such devastations in his route, that General Washington was 



EXPLOITS OF ARNOLD, LA FAYETTE, AND TARLETON. 427 




GENKRA.L LA FA-TSTTB 



Dbliged to send Lafayette with twelve hundred men to check him. 
I'he French fleet undertook to lend its co-operation by blockading 
the bay ; but did little more than sail from Newport, show itself on 
the Virginia coast, and then sail bark to Newport. In order to cap- 
ture Arnold at all hazards, a council of French and American officers, 
at which Washington and Rochambeau were present, resolved to 
send against him the whole French fleet, with eleven hundred men. 
But such was the slowness of the Admiral Detouche's movements, 
that Arnold escaped without seeing- his enemy ; and after an indeci- 
sive action with Admiral Arbuthnot's squadron off Cape Henry, the 
French fleet returned to Rhode Island. 

Late in March, Arnold was joined by two thousand men under 
General Phillips. After ravacjinir the districts lying along the bay, 
he marched to Petersburg, destroying in his progress immense quan- 
tities of tobacco, flour, shipping, public and private stores, and pro- 
perty. Soon after General Phillips died, and his troops joined Lord 
Cornvvallis, who had arrived in Petersburg, May 20. On receiving 
news of his arrival. General L^a Fayette made a forced march to 
Richmond, where he secured a considerable amount of military 
stores. This success was counterbalanced by an expedition of Colonel 
Tarleton against Charlotteville, in which he captured seven members 
of the Assembly, and destroyed a nuuiber of stores. 



428 



CAMPAIGN OF 1781. 




a«NBRAL WATNJC'S CSLBBRATED CHAROB ON THE BRITISH ARUT. 



At tnis time the French general's suppHes had been remo\'ed from 
Richmond to Albemarle Old Court-House. Hither the British pro- 
ceeded, and by a rapid march were enabled to get between the mar- 
quis and his supplies. Cornwallis was now certain that he would 
either seize the suppHes or force the Americans to a battle under 
great disadvantages. At night, however, La Fayette opened an old 
disused road, and marching round the British forces, completely 
foiled his antagonist. Cornwallis then fell back to Richmond ; and 
subsequently, on hearing that Baron Steuben had joined La Fayette, 
to Williamsburg. Here a skirmish took place with the British rear, 
in which the Americans had the advantage. 

Cornwallis now received orders from Sir Henry Clinton, to send 
part of his troops to New York, which was threatened by a combined 
attack from the French and Americans. Accordingly, on the 4th of 
July he sent his baggage and some wheel carriages across James's 
river, and concentrated his army on the bank. Being pursued by 
La Fayette, he placed his main body as compactly as possible on a 
tongue of land covered with woods, at the same time spreading out 
the troops across the river so as to induce the French general to 
believe that his main body was over, and only the rear remained 



GENERAL WAYNE*S CHARGE. 



429 




COT7NTDEQBASSB. 

La Fayette was completely deceived, and on the 7th comn enced an 
attack, by spirited advances, upon what he supposed but a small part 
of his antagonist's force. The obstinacy of the resistan e quickly 
undeceived him, and on hurrying forward to reconnoitre, he found 
that General Wayne with his eight hundred Pennsylvani? ns, on per- 
ceiving the error, had boldly charged the enemy's whole line. By 
this movement Cornwallis was in his turn deceived, not imagining 
that so daring an effort would be made by a comparati e handful, 
unless large numbers were behind to second them. H t therefore 
quietly suffered La Fayette to withdraw his forces, and during the 
night crossed to Jamestown, from whence he proceed d to Ports- 
mouth. In this skirmish the Americans lost one hi- idred men, 
eighteen officers, and two cannon ; the enemy acknowle dge a loss of 
seventy-five. Soon after, his lordship received counter-orders from 
Sir Henry Clinton, to retain the troops formerly demanded, and oc- 
cupy some good defensive position on the Chesapeake. He accord- 
ingly took possession of Yorktoum and Gloucester Point, which he 
proceeded to fortify. 



430 CAMPAIGN OF 1781. 




YORKTOWU, FROM A. DRA-WtNO BT U K S. SIMOOE* 



On the 30ihof August, much to the mortification of Cornwallis, the 
Oount de Grasse suddenly appeared in the Chesapeake with twenty- 
eicrht sail of the h'ne. Yoik river was immediately blockaded, while 
thirty-twi hundred troops landed and joined the army of La Fayette. 
While tl»is was going on, Admiral Greaves appeared off the Capes 
of Virginia, and was met by the Count de Grasse. The two fleets 
manceuvred until the 7th of September, when the French leader, De 
Barras, s* fely passed the British ships and sailed up the Chesapeake 
with eight ships of the line. He was immediately joined by De 
Grasse, a'ter which Admiral Greaves sailed for New York. 

An attf.ck upon Lord Cornwallis had not been the original policy 
of either Washington or Rochambeau. The causes which produced 
so materir I a change of plan are now to be narrated. 

Early n the spring, Washington had arranged a plan with the 
French C( mmanders for a combined land and naval attack upon the 
British ht dd-quarters at New York. Its immediate execution was 
delayed b ■ the great difficulty in raising continental troops ; and in 
the mean « hile Clinton was reinforced by several regiments from 
England. While the commander-in-chief was chagrined by these 
mortifying disappointments, news was received of Greene's success 
in driving Cornwallis into Virginia ; and as the destination of De 
Grasse was known to be the Chesapeake, Washington determined to 
abandon Sir Honry Clinton, and by a rapid march, to fall upon York- 



BURNING OF NEW LONDON. 



431 



own before its garrison could retreat to the south. After ai.. using 
Clinton for a considerable length of time, he suddenly broke up his 
camp, and had crossed *he Delaware below Trenton, before Sir 
Henry was aware of his lestination. General Heath was left in 
command of the northern army. 

When too late, Clinton discovered his mistake ; but in order if 
possible to bring Washington back, he sent Arnold, who had lately 
arrived from Virginia, against the town of New London. That 
officer first attncked Forts Griswold and Trumbull, which defended 
the approach lo the town. The latter fort, with the town, were im- 
mediately evacuated ; but Fort Griswold, with its garrison of one 
hundred and sixty men under Colonel Ledyard, made a gallant 
defence. The works were taken by storm, the commandant killed 
with his own sword while surrendering it, and the whole n-arrison, ex- 
cept about forty, massacred. The enemy lost their commander. Colonel 
Eyre, and on^i hundred and eighty-eight killed and wounded. Arnol j 
sacked and burned New London, and then returned to head-(juarters. 

This outrageous proceeding had no effect in divertinp- Washington 
from his plan against Cornwallis. In company with the French 
leaders, he reached Williamsburg on the 14th of September, and 
there settled the final plan of operations. Toward the latter end of 
that month, all the allied forces had arrived, and every thing was in 
readiness for the commencement of the siege. 

The main British army was encamped about Yorktown, on the 
south side of York river, within a range of outer redoubts and field 
ivorks. On the opposite side of the river was Gloucester Point, 
defended by Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, with six or seven hun Ired 
men, and communicatino; with the chief position by means ( f bat- 
teries and ships of war. This latter post was watched by the French 
general, De Choisy ; while the main army moved to invest York- 
town on the 80th of September. On the night of October 0. the 
besiegers completed their first parallel, wnthin six hundred yarJs of 
the English lines. Their fire was opened on the 9th and 10th, 
which \vas followed by the second parallel, within three hundred 
ya!(ls of the enemy. Here two redoubts, which considerably im- 
peded their operations, were stormed — one by the Baron Viominel, 
'Vith a party of Frenchmen ; the other by Americans under La 
Fayette. Both detachments advanced in the face of a heavy fire, 
without firing a gun. The Americans lost nine killed, thirty-two 
Vi'ounded ; tue French about one hundred. 



432 



CAMPAIGN OF 1781. 




LA FATETTS TAXING THE HEDOUBT AT TORKTOWN 



This occurred on the 14th. Two days after, Lieutenant-colonel 
Abercrombie made a sortie from the garrison with indifferent success; 
while during the same afternoon, the two captured redoubts were in- 
cluded in the second parallel, and one hundred pieces of heavy ord- 
nance were brought to bear upon the enemy's lines. As the works 
of Cornwallis were now almost in ruins, he resolved on making his 
escape to New York by land, and had actually landed a portion of 
his army on Gloucester Point, when a heavy storm dispersed his 
boats, and the design was necessarily abandoned. Next day, several 
new batteries being opened, the works were no longer tenable ; and 
his lordship requested of Washington a cessation of hostilities for 
twenty-four hours. The American commander granted him two 
hours, presenting at the same time a rough draft of propositions, on 
which he was willing to base articles of capitulation. Commission- 
ers were appointed to digest these into form ; and on the 19th Wash- 
ington despatched the corrected copy to his lordship, expressing the 
expectation that they would be signed by ten, and the garrison be 
ready to march out by 2 p. m. of the same day. It being impossible 
to obtain better terms, Cornwallis was reduced to the mortifying ne- 
cessity. The capitulation was signed at Moore's house, and at the ap- 
pointed hour the garrison marched out, with their colours cased, and 
surrendered to General Lincoln on the same terms which, under 
similar circumstances, had been granted to that officer by Cornwallis 
Bt Charleston. Yorktown and Gloucester, with their garrisons and 
stores, were given up to the United States ; the shipping and seamen 



SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS. 



438 




moorb's house, tobktown. 

to the Count de Grasse. Exclusive of seamen, the garrison numbered 
over seven thousand. During the siege they had, in killed and 
wounded, five hundred and fifty-two. The allied forces lost about 
three hundred. 

On the 24th, Sir Henry Clinton arrived oflf the Capes of Virginia 
with twenty-five ships of the line, and eight frigates, bearing seven 
thousand men ; but finding that Cornwallis had already surrendered, 
he returned to New York. 

The capture of Cornwallis, with the army which had so long 
spread terror through the southern provinces, filled the whole country 
with gratitude and exultation. Congress voted its thanks to each of 
the commanders, and to the officers and troops engaged, and resolved 
to erect a marble column at Yorktown, adorned with emblems of the 
alliance between France and the United States, with a suitable in- 
scription in commemoration of the victory. Washington was anxious 
to improve his success, by a combined attack upon the enemy at 
Charleston ; but the French admiral refused to remain longer on the 
coast, alleging as reason, his engagements with the Spaniards m the 
West Indies. Accordingly, after covering the transportation of 
Washington's troops to the head of Elk river, -he sailed towards 
Cuba, and the American army returned by detachments to the north. 

Meanwhile, some important actions had taken place between the 
few ships possessed by Congress and single vessels belonging to 
Ureat Britain. In June, 1780, the Trumbull, of twenty-eight guns, 

56 20 



434 



4 

CAMPAIGN W 1781. 



lATTLa-GKOUND 07 TORKTOWN. 



Captain Nicholson, encountered an English vessel of superior size, 
and fought with her two hours and a half. The mainmast of the 
enemy fell, while all except the foremast of the Trumbull went by 
the board. Nicholson lost thirty in killed and wounded ; the British 
captain, Coulthard, ninety-two ; yet he claimed the victory. 

Tn October, the sloop Saratoga, 
of sixteen guns. Captain Young, 
captured a ship and two brigs, 
but was subsequently deprived 
of them by the British vessel 
Intrepid, of seventy-four guns 
On the 2d of April, 1781, Cap 
tain Barry, in the Alliance, cap 
tured two Guernsey privateers 
and soon after, two English men 
of-war. One of them was sub- 
sequently recaptured. In June, 
the British took the Confedera- 
cy, of thirty-two guns, under Captain Harding ; and in August, the 
Trumbull. 




O&PTAIN BARBT. 



HaHRY LAUBBN3. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 




OTHING could exceed the astonishment anc 
indignation with which the news of CornwaHis's 
surrender was received in England. Parlia- 
ment assembled on the 27th of November, when 
the king recounted, with evident mortification, 
his losses in Virginia, but at the same time 
urged the vigorous prosecution of the war. In 
the debate on this address, the opposition, led 
by Fox, Burke, and Pitt, were vehement in their denunciation of 
ministers and condemnation of all further proceedings against Ame- 
rica. The usual vote of thanks was, however, carried by a large 
majority. Lord North then declared the purpose of the ministry to 
carry on a " war of posts," instead of operating by incursions into 
the interior. The opposition, however, strenuously opposed all such 
measures, boldly charging ministers with the prosecution of schemes 
'vhose palpable tendency was the dissolution of the monarchy. A* 



436 



CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTIONAKY WAfL 




COLONBL LAUBBN 



each successive trial his lordship found himself losing ground ; un 
til at last, on the vote of an address to the king, presented by Gene- 
ral Conway, praying for the discontinuance of the war, he was left 
in a minority of nineteen. Lofd North then resigned, and a new 
cabinet was formed, under the auspices of the Marquis of Rocking- 
ham. That nobleman's death put an end to this administration ; and 
on the 11th of July, 1782, the king prorogued parliament. 

Popular opinion in both countries was now strongly in favour of 
peace, and at length the British monarch consented to the opening 
of negotiations. Mr. Fitzherbert and Mr. Oswald were appointed 
commissioners for England ; and on the 30th of November, they met 
Messrs. Franklin, Adams, Jay, and Laurens, and agreed upon 
arrangements preliminary to a treaty between all the belligerent 
powers. On the 20th of January, 1783, France, Spain, Great Bri- 
tain, and Ameiica, concluded the treaty of peace which secured the 
independence of the United States. Previous to this, [October 8, 
1782,] Mr. John Adams had signed a treaty of amity and commerce 
with the United Provinces of Holland. 

The campaign of 1782 was marked by but few military events 
Wayne, with the Pennsylvania troops, had been sent into Georgia, 
R-hcre, about midnight of May 21, he attacked Colcnel Brown, com- 



THE LAST BLOODSHED. 



437 




OOUUODORB BABNST. 



mandant of Savannah, who had left that town in force, hoping to 
surprise Wayne. The British were totally defeated, with the loss 
of forty killed or wounded, and twenty prisoners. The victors had 
five killed, and two wounded. On the night of June 24, Wayne 
sustained a furious attack from a party of Creek Indians, whom he 
defeated, with the less of one of their bravest chiefs. The royalists 
came out from Savannah to join the Indians ; but they were driven 
back by Wayne, who captured a British standard and one hundred 
and twenty-seven loaded pack-horses. His own loss was thirteen 
killed and wounded. Savannah was evacuated by the enemy in 
July, and the war in that quarter ended. 

On the 27th of August the lamented Colonel Laurens was mor- 
tally wounded during a skirmish of General Gist, with a large party 
of British, in South Carolina. On James's Island, Captain Wilmot, 
with a small party, attacked some British troops, but was killed, 
and his men were defeated. This was the last blood shed in 
•ihe Revolution. Charleston was evacuated by General Leslie on 
:he 14th of December, and Wayne took possession of it with five 
thousand troops. 

In this year, the Hyder Ally, a Pennsylvania vessel of six gunvS, 
28 2o2 



4'^»8 CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAK. 




■washi-noton's hiad-quarthrs at hewburgh. 



under Captain Joshua Barney, was attacked by two British vessels 
and a brig, while engaged in convoyinof a fleet of merchantmen to 
the Capes. By means of a skilful stratagem, she got into position 
to rake the brig, and in twenty-six minutes discharged twenty broad- 
sides. The enemy then surrendered. It proved to be the General 
Monk, of eighteen guns. Barney's loss was four killed, eleven 
wounded ; that of his enemy twenty killed, thirty-three wounded. 
Barney soon after captured a refugee schooner, which had given tho 
Americans Cdnsiderable trouble. On the other hand, the frigate 
South Carolina was taken by three large English vessels, appointed 
to watch her; and in the West Indies, the French fleet, under the 
Count de Grasse, was totally defeated and captured by the British 
under Admiral Rodney. 

In December, 1782, the American officers at Newburgh petitioned 
Congress that instead of granting them half-pay for life, which had 
been promised but never paid, that body should vote them full pay 
for five years, and pay the arrearages then due. The unwarrantable 
delay of Congress in acceding to this reasonable request, so provoked 



MUTINY OF THE TROOPS. 



43S 



the officers, that but for the influence of Washington, they would at 
unce have marched in arms to Philadelphia. At the earnest repre- 
sentation of their case to Congress by the commander-in-chief, the 
request of the officers was granted. 

On the 19th of April, just eight years after the battle of Lexing- 
ton, peace was proclaimed to the army. A critical duty now de- 
volved upon Washington and the national legislature. This was the 
disbandment of the army, the members of which, after carrying the 
country triumphantly through the gloomy struggle for freedom, were 
now to be turned penniless to their ruined homes by the very power 
which had employed them. By relying on that patriotism which 
had ever shown itself capable of any sacrifice, and aided by the 
influence of Washington's popularity, Congress made the expe- 
riment. The old troops submitted patiently ; but eight of the new 
levies marched from Lancaster, surrounded the state-house, and there 
kept the members of the national legislature imprisoned for three 
hours. Washington hurried a strong detachment after them; but 
the riot was quelled before he arrived. 

New York was evacuated by the British in November, and en- 
tered on the 25th by General Washington, Governor Clinton, and a 
large number of citizens and military. On the 4th of December 
the commander took leave of his officers at Francis's tavern ; after 
which he proceeded to Annapolis, where Congress was then sitting, 
and resigned, Dec. 23. He then retired to Mount Vernon. Mean- 
while the independence of the United States had been acknowledged 
by Sweden, Denmark, Spain, and Russia. The final treaty of peace 
was signed at Paris, September 3, by David Hartley, on the part of 
George IIL, and John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay, oo 
the part of the United States. 



■WASHIfOTON. 



CHAPTER XXXVL 

ORGANIZATION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT— WASHINGTON'S 

ADMINISTRATION. 

URING the war of independence, comnion 
danger had produced feelings of synapathy 
and mutual obligation amongf the states con- 
stituting the American Union ; and to this 
cause was owing, in an eminent degree, the 
acknowledgment of the authority of Con- 
gress to legislate for the nation. The return 
of peace broke this bond of union; and soon 
the germs of distrust, want of credit, and civil commotions, began 
to produce their legitimate fruits. As early as July, 1782, New 
York declared the general government incapable of furnishing itself 
with a revenue. In February of the following year. Congress made 
an effort to establish permanent and adequate funds throughout the 
United States : but in 1786, the measure was defeated by the oppo- 
sition of New York. 

Meanwhile an insurrection against the state government had taken 
place in Massachusetts. On the 22d of August, 1786, a convention 
met at Hatfield to protest against several acts of the legislature. 
Very soon after a large body of insurgents took possession of the 
court-houses in Northampton and other counties. Daniel Shays was 
iheir leader ; and although the general court immediately passed laws 




SHAYS REBELLION. 



441 



lor relieving the public burdens, he proceeded with his followers tc 
Springfield, and on the 26th of December took possession of the 
court-house. He then became so troublesome that four thousand 
troops, under General Lincoln, were ordered against him. Previous 
to their march. Shays with eleven hundred men had attacked a body 
of twelve hundred troops under General Sheppard, but was driven 
away by a round of musketry. On the 4th of February, General 
Lincoln suddenly surprised them at Petersham, whence they were 
driven in great confusion, with the loss of one hundred and fifty pri- 
soners. This terminated the rebellion. 

The first efforts toward the" formation of a permanent government 
were rather accidental than otherwise. Virginia recommended a 
convention of delegates to take into consideration the ineffective regu- 
lations concerning commerce, and this call was responded to by five 
other states. In September, 1786, the proposed meeting took place 
at Annapolis; but, feeling the limited extent of their powers, th 
delegates made but a few minor arrangements, and then adjourne . 
after recommending to Congress the calling of a National Convention, 
with authority to adopt measures for the formation of a permanent 
government. Accordingly, Congress passed a resolution recommend- 
ing a convention of delegates from all the states to be held at Phila- 
delphia, for the purpose of revising the articles of confederation, and 
reporting to Congress and the several legislatures such alterations 
and provisions therein as should, when agreed to in Congress, and 
confirmed by the states, render the Federal constitution adequate to 
the emergencies of government and the preservation of the Union. 

N May, 1787, this body of able statesmen assem- 
bled at the place appointed, all the states e.c- 
cept Rhode Island being represented. Washing- 
ton was chosen president. After long deliberations 
they reported to Congress a draft of the present 
constitution, recommending its being submitted for 
ratification to a convention of delegates in each 
state, chosen by and from the people of each. This was complied 
with, and for several months the newly-reported instrument under- 
went a critical examination. During this period its provisions were 
ably explained and defended in a series of essays entitled the Fede- 
ralist, written by Madison, Jay, and Hamilton. It was this circum- 
stance that gave the title of Federalists to the political party who 
favoured the new constitution, while at the same time their opponents 

66 




442 



ADMINISTRATION OF WASHINGTON. 




MOUNT VERNON. 



were styled Anti-Federalists. The consent of nine states was requi 
site to enable the new code to become the basis of national legisla- 
tion ; and as nearly a year intervened before this could be obtained, 
Congress employed that interval in adopting measures for organizing 
the new government. The first electors for the office of president 
were to be chosen on the first Wednesday in February, 1789, and 
vote for the person of their choice on the first Wednesday of March 
following. 

The hopes of Congress and the nation were now centred upon 
Washington. In him the friends of the still tottering Constitutior 
beheld the only resource which could give weight to the novel opera 
tion of so strange an experiment as that which they were about to 
perform. Even its opponents were in generaJ willing to make a trial 
of it, could he be placed at its head. But it was with no small dif- 
ficulty that his habitual distrust of himself, united to an ardent love 
of retirement, could be again overcome. Besides his reluctance 
again to embark on the stormy ocean of politics, he was extensively 
engaged in agricultural pursuits, for which he had ever entertained 
a passionate fondness. But the people were encouraged by the 
reflection that he had never refused the call of public duty. They 
therefore renewed their earnest appeals that he would give stability 
tt the youthful nation by the weight of his influence, and at length 
he consented. On the day of election he received the unanimous 
vote 01 the electors, " and probably without a dissenting voice a 



418 




vftsniNaTON t&.k;in;j the oa.th of offios. in front of thb ole 

FBDBRAL HA.LL, NEW YORK. 

the whole nation, was chosen the first President of the United 
Slates." 

Washinoton received notice of his election, April 14, 1789, and 
sacrificing his lung cherished hopes and feelings to ihe public wish, 
he left Mount Vernon on the 16th, for New York, where Congress 
was then in session. His jf)urney was everywhere hailed by the 
spontaneous overfliAving of love and veneration for his person, from 
an almost idolizing people. As he drew near different towns, the 
entire population hastened to meet him, and the chief ctizens wel- 
comed him to their honies. In the great cities, the bells rang, can- 
nons were fired, and civic and military authorities paraded. At 
Elizabethtown Point, he was met by a deputation from Congress and 
the heads of departments, and his journey thence to New York was 
one triumphal procession. At the latter city, he was escorted by an 
immense concourse of people, among whom were the governor, and 
other officers of state, the clergy, foreign ministers, and others. In 
the evening, the city was brilliantly illuminated. 

On the 30th of April, Chancellor Livingston administered to him the 
oath of office, in presence of both houses of Congress and thousands 
of citizens ; and then the discharge of thirteen guns from the bat- 
tery, and the cheers of assembled masses, announced that the new 
government was completely organized. The President then re- 
tired to the Senate chamber, and delivered an impressive address 
to each branch of the National Legislature, in which, after expressing 
distrust in his ability to execute the duties just conferred upon him, 
he declared his conviction that the same Great Being who had con 



444 ADMnrisTRiTioy of wAsniXGTOsr. 

ducted them through the long struggle for independence, woald sblj 
continue to preside over their deliberations, and establish on a firm basis 
a form of Government which other nations would be de'ighted to 
copy. Washington then retired to St. Paul's church, where the 
services of the day were closed by appropriate religious ceremonies. 
At night the city was again illuminated, and fireworks displayed. 

Among the first acts of Congress, 
was a law imposing duties on im- 
ported merchandise, and taxes oo 
the tonnage of vessels. lis next 
important step was the constitut- 
ing of an executive cabinet, com 
posed of the secretaries of war, of 
fetate, and of the treasury. Wash- 
ington appointed Alexander Ham- 
ill on Secretary of the Treasury, 
General Kn : x. Secretary of War 
aoi Tn:mas Jefferson, Secretary 
of State. John Jay became chief 
justice, assisted by five associate judges. 

On the adjournment of Congress, Washington made a tour through 
the New England states, where he was gratified not only by the 
liattering testimonies of esteem and affection heaped upon him by all 
classes of people, but also by the signs of returning prosperity and 
affluence. The effects of war were disappearing, a^ricuhure was 
actively and profitably pursued, manufactures were increasing, towns 
springing up in every direction, and commerce becoming daily more 
extended. The heart of the great man was cheered by these tokens 
of order, peace, and contentment, which were so many unmistakable 
types of the country's future prosperity. 

T the re-opening of the first Congress, 
I^January, 1T90,~ the President re- 
commended, among other important 
subjects, a provision for the common 
defence, and for the regulation of the 
militia, a uniformity in weights, mea- 
sures, and the currency; the advance 
ment of agriculture, manufactures, 
and commerce ; the establishment of 
pcsi-otnces and post-roads, and thf 





ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT. 445 

encouragement of science and literature. A great part of the session 
was occupied by a consideration of a plan proposed by Secretary 
Hamilton, for discharging, out of the nationaV treasury, the debt of 
twenty-five million dollars, due by the individual states, for expenses 
incurred during the war. The measure was finally adopted. Con- 
gress also decided to remove the seat of government, for ten years, 
to Philadelphia, and then to establish it permanently at some place 
on the Potomac. Next year, the site of the present capital was 
chosen by Washington, after whom it was named. The territory in 
which it stands is called the District of Columbia. 

Meanwhile, the relations with foreign powers were in a rather un- 
promising condition. The Algerines not only seized our vessels, but 
kept the officers and crews in bondage for several years. England 
had as yet sent no minister, and even neglected to evacuate her 
military posts on the frontier. Spain refused to grant the navigation 
of the Mississippi to the western states, with the hope probably of 
detaching them from the confederacy and uniting them to herself. 
Both England and Spain were aiso active in fomenting disturbances 
between the Indians and the settlers of Ohio and Georgia. 

N Febiuary, 1792, two new stales, Vermont und 
Kentucky, were admitted into the federal com- 
pact. During the same session. Congress passed 
a bill for the incorporation of a National Bank 
which, although strenuously opposed by Jefferson 
and his democratic adherents, was, after mature 
deliberation, signed by the President, and becpme 
a law. The bank was chartered for twenty years, 
with a capital of ten millions. It was established at Philadelphia, 
with branches throughout the United States. To pay the interest on 
the national debt, Hamilton proposed duties on wine, tea, and other 
luxuries, with an excise on spirits distilled within the country. 
These were passed. The government being fully organized, public 
credit and commercial prosperity rapidly revived. Depreciated 
public paper soon rose to par; and the value of property was greatly 
enhan(.ed. 

In the autumn of 1790, General Harmer was sent with fifteen 
hundred men, of whom three hundred were regulars, to destroy 
the Indian settlements on the Sciota and Wabash. He detached 
Colonel Harden with six hundred men, to ascertain their position, 
but at his approach, the Indians fired their principal village and 

2P 




446 



ADMINISTRATION OF WASHINGTON. 



fled to the woods. Being again detached with one hundred and eigntj 
mililia, he was attacked by the savages, his militia dispersed, ana 
all the regulars, except seven, killed. Harmer then burned all the 
Indian towns on the Sciota, and again detached Harden, with three 
hu.idred militia and sixty regulars, to retrieve the loss of reputation 
in the former expeditions. Being again attacked at the confluence 
of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's rivers, the militia were driven 
back after a resolute struggle, and fifty of the regulars killed. The 
whole party then retreated to Fori Washington. 

N 179], General St. Clair, Governor 
of the North-west Territory, marched 
with three thousand men against the 
Indian villages on the Miami. Before 
sunrise, on the morning of November 
4, he was surprised by a large body 
of Indians at his camp, about fifteen 
miles south of the villages. The 
militia, being in advance, were first 
attacked, and rushing in the usual 
disorder among the regulars under 
General Butler, composing the first 
line, threw them also into confusion. The officers succeeded jn re- 
storing partial order ; but so furious was the onset of the Indians, 
that most of the artillerymen were down, and the greater number of 
officers, including General Butler, either killed or mortally wounded. 
The commanding general was seritusly indisposed, but he gave his 
orders with perfect coolness, and used every exertion to retrieve the 
fortunes of the day. Lieutenant-colonel Darke was ordered to charge 
with the bayonet, which he did in gallant style, driving the enemy 
about four |iundred yards ; but the want of a sufficient number of 
riflemen to press this advantage, deprived the Americans of any 
advantage from it. The Indians finally broke the right wing, seized 
the artillery, and penetrated the camp. Darke again charged, driving 
them from camp and recovering the artillery; but this success was 
but momentary, and the Americans soon commen -ed a disorderly re- 
treat, in which they were pursued four miles, l^iey halted at Fort 
Jefferson, thirty miles from the scene of action. 

In this engagement the Americans lost thirty-eight officers, and 
fiVe hundred and ninety-three men killed; twenty-one officers, and 
two hundred and forty-two men wounded. The enemy's loss \vm 




WAYNE DEFEATS THE INDIAN'S. 



447 




oiSSKAL WAYNB DSFBATINO THB INDIANS AT THB MIAMI 



probably but small. On hearing of this disaster, Congress, at the re- 
commendation of the President, increased the national military force 
to five thousand men. 

General St. Clair resigned the governorship of the North-western 
Territ. ry, and was succeeded by General Wayne. In August, 1794, 
that officer marched with three thousand men to attack the Indians 
of the Miami. Reaching the Rapids on the 18th, he made to them 
an offer of peace ; but being posted in large numbers behind a thick 
wood near a British fort, they treated the proposition with contempt. 
On the 20ih, Wayne advanced upon them in two columns ; and 
perceiving that they had extended their line over a distance of two 
miles in order to outflank him, he ordered his first column not to fire 
until they had advanced into the woods and roused the foe, and then 
10 press them so closely with the bayonet as to give no time for 
re-loading. The second line was to support the first. Colonel Camp- 
bell's cavalry to charge the Indian left flank, and General Scott, 
with his mounted volunteers, their right. In less than an hour after 
the commencement of the action, the savages were completely 
routed, and driven a distance of tw^o miles, up to the very guns of 
the British furt. The general then destroyed the settlements on the 
Miami, and so vveakened the Indian resources that they were glad 



448 ADMINISTRATION OP WASHINGTON. 

to listen to terms. A treaty advantageous to both parties was con- 
cluded in the following year. 

In the year 1791, the first census of the United States was taken, 
by which the total population, exclusive of Indians, was found to be 
nearly four millions. Of these, rather more than six hundred and 
ninety-five thousand were negro slaves. During the same year, 
Washington made a tour through the southern states, and was every 
where received as he had been at the north. 

The second Congress assembled at Philadelphia in October, 1791. 
The principal acts of their first session was the establishment of a 
uniform militia system, the increase of the army, and the apportion- 
ment of the ratio of representation at one delegate for every thirty- 
three thousand inhabitants. 

T the expiration of his first Presidential term in 
1792, Washington expressed his ardent desire 
to retire from the cares of public life ; but this 
his friends would not listen to, and yielding his 
wishes to the good of the country, he was 
again unanimously chosen President, with John 
Adams for Vice-President. 

At this time the memorable French Revolu- 
tion had attained to such a pitch of fanaticism as to threaten the 
peace of Europe, and render a neutral policy on the part of the 
United States extremely difficult. Washington's cabinet were di- 
vided between the opinions of Hamilton and Knox, to break entirely 
with the French Assembly, and that of Jefl^erson and Randolph, to 
receive their envoy, and fully acknowledge the obligations of the 
treaty concluded with Louis XVI. Without giving a full sanction to 
either of these views, Washington assented to receiving the minister, 
and it was agreed that all mention of the treaty should be suppressed. 

The great bulk of the American people were in favour of lending 
assistance to France against foreign powers, especially England ; and 
a participation in the European struggle was prevented only by the 
firm neutral policy of Washington, and the rash conduct of the French 
envoy. This individual was M. Genet; and, instead of proceeding 
directly to the seat of government, he landed at Charleston, and began 
to fit out privateers to cruise against British merchantmen. In his 
journey to Philadelphia he was everywhere welcomed with enthj- 
siasm, a circumstance that inspired him with most culpable vanity 
and assurance. When remonstrated with concerning the fitting out 




CITIZEN GENET. 



449 




OENKRAL KNOX. 



of privateers, he haughtily answered that his authority was in the 
late treaty, any infraction of which would be a violation of the " rights 
of man." Not satisfied with this, he fitted out another privateer 
from the port of Philadelphia, and even undertook to direct the civil 
government, by pronouncing, in opposition to the decisions of the 
President, the branches of government in which the constitution 
vested certain powers. To cap this climax of folly and insolence, he 
declared to Secretaries Knox and Hamilton his determination to appeal, 
in the case of the privateer at Philadelphia, from the decision of the 
President to that of the people. 

Hitherto Citizen Genet had been sustained by popular esteem, 
principally on account of the former friendship between the two 
countries ; but this threat opened the eyes of the people to his vil- 
lany, and they warmly and unanimously declared against him. In 
1794, he was recalled at the request of the President. 

^.HE excise law, imposing a tax on domestic distilled 
liquors, met with great opposition in several parts of 
the country, especially in Pennsylvania, where whis- 
key was the most important item of trade. Public 
meetings in different counties west of the AUeghanies 
denounced the act as unconstitutional,, and declared any person 

57 2 p2 




450 



ADMIXISTRATIOy OF WASHiyGTON. 



whc should undertake to enforce it inimical to the interests of the 
country. 

This appeal was but too readily answered. General Neville had 
been n.ade inspector of the western country^ but his efforts to enforce 
the law were ineffectual. In the summer of 1792 the insurgents 
organized, and commenced so systematic an opposition to the mea- 
sure, that Washington was obliged to issue a proclamation calling on 
the disaffected to stop their proceedings. Even this did nr.t produce 
the desired effect. General Neville was fired upon while walking 
from his residence, his house attacked and partly destroyed, and 
himself driven beyond the mountains. 

The exercise of armed force having now become absolutely neces- 
sary, Washington made a requisition upon the governors of New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, for fifteen thousand 
militia. The call was immediately responded to; and Governor Lee, 
of Virgrinia, being appointed to the command, marched into the dis- 
affected territory. Yet, still anxious to quell the rebellion without 
bloodshed, the President, on the 25th of September, issued a second 
proclamation, stating the impossibility of success on the part of the 
insurgents, cfferins" protection to all who would confide in the govern- 
ment, exhorting the riotous to lay down their arms, and warning all 
persons of the consequences of any attempt to aid them. This pro- 
clamaticn, with the knowledge of Lee's approach, had such an effect, 
that cn the arrival of the army in the infected neighbourhood, no 
insurgents were to be found. A detachment under Maji r-General 
Morgan was stationed there during the winter. 

T the opening of the Third Congress in Decem- 
ber. 1793, the President called the serious atten- 
tion of Congress to measures of national defence, 
and the necessity of preparing for war, even 
while using every effort to prevent it. In a 
special message he directed the attention of 
men.bers to the spoliations committed on our 
Commerce by France and England, as well as the restraints of the 
latter power on the commerce in corn and other provisions. Con- 
gress warmly responded to his wishes in these respects, taking care, 
at the same time, to give as little offence as possible to either of the 
'j^Uigercnt powers. 

About this time Mr. Jffferscn resigned his office of Secretary oi 
State, and was succeeded by Mr. Randoloh. Already Great Br'- 




jay's treaty with ENGLAND. 



451 




tatn and the United Slates were on the eve of another war. Eng- 
land still refused to surrender some of the (uns in the western coun- 
try ; her cruisers sttpped and searched American vessels; her 
admiralty issued an order that vessels carrying flt'Ur, corn, or meal, 
and bound to any port in France, or occupied by French armies, 
should be stopped and taken to England ; and her officers con- 
tinued to exercise upon Anierican crews the odious act of impress- 
ment. 

Washington clearly foresaw the bad consequences of a secono 
struggle with the old eneniy , and, anxious to prevent it, he de 
spatched Mr. Jay as envoy extraordinary to the British court. That 
gentleman succeeded in effecting a treaty, by which England agreed 
to surrender the western forts, and to allow American trade to the 
West Indies ; but as the other provisions were not entirely satisfac- 
tory, Washington for some time refused to sign it. He finally, how- 
ever, ratified the treaty, with consent of two-thirds of the Senate. It 
met with great opposition throughout the country, and was stigma- 
tized by the opposition party as an act of ingratitude against France. 
Meanwhile Hamilton and Knox had resigned their seats in the cabi- 
net ; and thus the President was left almost alone to combat the lor 
rent of opposition to the treaty. He remained, however, firm ; atul 



452 ADMINISTRATION OF v\^ASHINGTON. 

in a little time, the beneficial effects of the measure became fully 
apparent. 

Before the next session of Congress, treaties had been concluded 
with Algiers, with the Indians beyond the Ohio, and with Spain,— 
ihe latter power yielding the important points of boundary claimed 
by the United States, the right of navigating the Mississippi, and a 
depot at New Orleans. The only power still reiain rig a hostile atti 
tude was France. A new envoy had been sent from that country 
who, by inflammatory addresses, contrived to inspire the people with 
enthusiasm in his favour. He had even received instructions from 
the French Directory, that in case President Washington could not 
be drawn into a rupture with England, he was then to address Con- 
gress, and appeal, as Genet had done, to the people. At the same 
time the Directory passed regulations by which American vessels 
were seized, and their cargoes confiscated. In 1796, Mr. Monroe, 
American minister at Paris, was recalled, and Charles C. Pirckn<?y 
appointed in his place. 

EFORE any adjustment of this difficulty 
could be effected, Washington's second 
term of office expired, and no consideration 
could induce him to permit another re-elec- 
tion. One of his principal reasons was, 
that eight years was a sufficient length of 
time for one individual to fill the highest 
office of a free elective government. In 
September, 1796, he announced to his 
C;;untrynien in a valedictory address his intention of retiring from 
public life. In this celebrated paper he dwells chiefly on the im- 
portance of preserving the unity of the republic, on the baneful efTecis 
of party spirit, the necessity of peace with foreign powers, the happy 
workings of the new government, and especially on the inseparable 
connection between national prosperity and moral rectitude. For 
soundness of political views, fervent patriotism, paternal affection for 
the people, and humble dependence on that Supreme Governor who 
controls all nations, this valedictory of Washington is perhaps with- 
out a rival in history. It excited throughout the country the deepest 
feelings of veneration for its author. Several of the state legislatures 
inserted it in their journals, and passed resolutions expressive of their 
exalted sense of the services and character of Washington, and thoii 
emotions at his retiring from office. 




RETIREMENT OF WASniXGTON. 



453 



Washington met Congress for the Jast time on the 7th of Decem- 
ber, 1796. In his speech on that occasion he adverted to the late 
treaties, the necessity of strengthening the naval force, of encouraging 
agriculture and manufactures, and of establishing a national univer- 
sity and a military academy. The relations with the French repub- 
lic were made the subject of a special message. In the following 
October took place the election for his successor, which, after a close 
and spirited canvass, gave the first office in the republic to Mr. John 
Adams, and the second to Mr. Thomas Jefferson. The former was the 
candidate of the Federal party, the latter of the Republican. They* 
were inauo-urated in the presence of Washington, on the 4th of 
Marcn, 1797. and immediately entered upon their respective duties 
The venerable ex-President then ^etired to his seat at Mount Vernon 




29 



CHAPTER XXXYIl. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 

HE services of Mr. Adams, as an earnest advocate in 
the Continental Congress for the declaration of inde- 
pendence, his defence of the Constitution, and hia 
acknowledged ability and patriotism, fully entitle*! 
him to the confidence of his fellow-citizens in the im- 
portant office to which he was now elevated. 

In the preceding year General Pinckney had been appointed 
Minister plenipotentiary to the French republic. The Directory re- 
fused to receive him until after the redress of their alleged grievances 
by the American government; and this high-handed measure was 
speedily followed by a notice to General Pinckney to quit the terri- 
tories of the republic, and orders to the French cruisers to capture 
American vessels wherever found. 

On receiving intelligence of these hostile proceedings, President 
Adams called a meeting of Congress [June 15, 1797]. On meeting 
them, the President, in his opening speech, stated the unprovoked 
aggressions of the French government, and their insidious attempts 
to disunite the American people ; and urged upon Congress the ne- 
cessity of providing for the national defence, declaring at the same 
lime his intention to attempt an accommodation of t"*» dispute b\ 
negotiation. 

4M 




AGGRESSIONS OF THE FRENCH. 




OOMMODORB iiUBRAY. 



Mr. Adams now appointed Messrs. Pinckney, Gerry, and Mar- 
shall, envoys to the French republic, with instructions to pursue 
peace and reconciliation by all means compatible with national ho- 
nour. While the result of this mission was anxiously awaited by the 
American people, the French aggressions on our commerce being 
still continued, an act of Congress was passed, [July 7, 1797,] ue 
daring the existing treaties with France no longer obligatory on the 
United Slates, because openly and repeatedly violated by the acts of 
the French government. 

ESPATCHES received from the Ameri- 
can envoys in France, in the spring of 
1798, announced that while the Directory 
had delayed to accredit the commission- 
ers, they had approached them m formally with pro 
positions demanding n oney as a condition of their 
recognition. The Duectory and the ministers 
were willing, besides, to receive a private bribe 
»nrough M. Talleyrand These auempts to tamper with the envoys 

67 




456 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 




OAPTUBK OF L INSURQflNTK 



being treated with merited contempt, they had been ordered to quit 
the territories of the republic. Intelligence of these proceedings, 
characterized as they were by a mixture of meanness and insolence, 
excited indignation throughout the country, and the rallying cry of 
the nation was. Millions for defence, not one cent for tribute. 

Congress immediately proceeded to raise an army, with Washing- 
ton for lieutenant-general and commander-in-chief; to pass alien and 
sedition laws as a defence against French influence at home ; and to 
issue letters of marque and reprisal for the defence of American com- 
merce. The alien and sedition law was poAverfully opposed ; but 
the war, like most wars, was popular. Its feats, however were 
destined to be confined to the ocean. 

in September, 1798, Commodore Murray sailed for the West In- 
dies, the principal theatre of the French depredations, with a 
squadron composed of the Norfolk, Montezuma, and Retaliation. In 
November this squadron encountered the French frigates Volontaire 
and LTnsurgente ; and three other ships appearing in an opposite 
direction at the same time, Captain Bainbridge, in the Retaliation, 
tvas detached to examine the French frigates, who were supposed to 
be British. He was captured ; but, by misrepresenting the force of 
the other two small vessels of the squadron, he prevented the FrencB 
from pursuing them, and thus enabled Murray to escape. 



COMMODORE TRUXTUN. 



Commodore Truxtun was more fortunate than Commodore Mui ray. 
In the frigate Constellation [February 9, 1799] he encountered the 
French frigate LTnsurgente ; and, after a spirited action, captured 
her. Her force was forty guns, and four hundred and nine men, of 
whom seventy were killed. The Constellation carried thirty-eight 
guns, and three hundred •'nd nine men, of whom three were wounded, 
and none killed. 

Several other captures of French cruisers were made by Truxtun, 
Barry, Tingey, and Decatur ; but the most remarkable action of 

the war was that between the 
Constellation, still under Trux- 
tun's command, and the French 
ship Vengeance, carrying no less 
than fifty-two guns. This cele- 
brated engagement took place on 
the 2d of February, 1800, and 
lasted from eight o'clock, P. M., 
till half-past one. The French 
ship was reduced to a sinking 
condition, and struck her colours; 
but the mainmast of the Constel- 
lation being nearly cut off, Trux- 
tun was unable to secure his prize. He lost fourteen killed, and 
twenty-five wounded. The Vengeance had fifty killed, and one 
hundred and ten wounded. This is the victory for which Commo- 
dore Truxtun received the gold medal from Congress. 

The other naval actions of this war were quite numerous, but 
comparatively unimportant, although they afforded Hull, Porter, and 
others, opportunities for giving promise of their future distinction in 
the annals of the navy. 

These active measures soon brought the insolent French Directory 
to their senses. They made overtures for negotiating a peace, an( 
Messrs. Ellsworth, Henry, and Van Murray, were sent to France a 
envoys. When they arrived at Paris, the Directory had been de- 
posed, and Napoleon soon concluded an adjustment of all disputes. 

Ere the war terminated, Washington was removed from the scene 
of his earthly glories. He died, after a very short illness, occasioned 
by cold, and a consequent inflammation of the throat, at Mount 
Vernon, on the 14th of December, 1799. Neither Congress nor the 
nation were wanting in that universal tribute of mourninor and vene- 




COMMODORE TBUXTUN. 



68 



2Q 



458 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 




TOM3 OF WASHlNaTOU. 



ration due to the illustrious founder of their common freedom. Per* 
haps the most sensible mark of this veneration was their giving his 
name to the federal city, the site of which he had himself selected. 
In November, 1800, Congress opened its sittings at Washington for 
the first time. Their sessions had been held first at New York, and 
afterwards at Philadelphia. 

Mr. Adams was not elected to office a second time. When the 
electoral votes were counted, he was in the minority, and Thoi las 
Jefferson and Aaron Burr, who had been proposed by the opposition 
as candidates for President and Vice-president, were found to have 
an equal number of votes. As the Constitution then stood, this stale 
of things referred the election to the House of Representatives, and 
Buir was enabled, with some prospect of success, to intrigue for de- 
feating the popular will. But the election was finally decided in 
favour of Jefferson, and cn the 4th of March, 1801, he was iiidJ£U* 
rated 



I 



THOMAS JBFFaaSON. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 




ADMINISTRATION OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

S the political tenets of Mr. Jefferson were directly 
opposite to those of his predecessor, a change was 
made among the cabinet officers. Mr. Madison 
was appointed Secretary of State ; immediately be- 
fore his retirement, Adams had appointed twelve 
new judges, in pursuance of a recent act of Congress. By 
ihe recommendation of Mr. Jefferson, that body now passed 
an act abolishing this judiciary, and re-organizing the whole 
judiciary department. Another act placed the laws of its or- 
ganization on an enlarged basis. 

In 1801, the second census of the United States showed a popula- 
tion of more than five million three hundred thousand souls, an 
augmentation of exports from nineteen to ninety-four millions Df 
dollars, and an increase of the revenue from five to thirteen 
millions, in ten years. These gave to the people the most satis- 
factory procf of the resources of the country as developed under the 
new constitu-ion. 

In the same year, Spain ceded Louisiana to France, a measur'i 
which soon began to produce uneasiness to the American govern' 
y\ent. Owing to the hostile disposition of the Directory, it was 

i5» 



460 



ADMINISTRATION OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. 




OAPTAIH IfSBHIWXTHXB LXWI& 



beared that the western people would either be engaged in constant 
outbreaks with the French settlers, concerning the all-important 
navigation of the Mississippi, or be induced to secede from the 
Union and join with Louisiana. The irritation of the western people 
was further increased by an act of the Spanish authorities in New 
Orleans, interdicting the citizens of the United States from the use 
of the port of that city as a place of deposit for their merchandise. 
In order to obviate, if possible, the evil consequences of these ag- 
gressions, the President despatched Mr. Monroe to Paris, to make, 
m conjunction with Mr. Livingston, a treaty for the purchase of 
New Orleans or Louisiana. 

Meanwhile, Ohio had been admitted into the Union as a separate 
state, and began its astonishing career of prosperity and population. 
In January, 1803, Congress, at the recomn.endation of the Presi- 
dent, authorized the fitting out of an expedition for exploring the 
country west of the Rocky Mountains. Captain Merriwether Lewis 



LOUISIANA PURCHASED. 



461 



was selected to command the party, who chose as associate in com- 
mand, Captain Clarke. After much delay, the expedition left the 
banks of the Mississippi, May 14, 1804. A measure of the Presi- 
dent, selling- a part of the bank stock owned by government, met 
with determined opposition from the federal party, as it was sup- 
posed to be a preliminary to the vetoing of the bank charter in 1809. 
An attempt to restore the District of Columbia to the states of Vir- 
ginia and Maryland was defeated by the opposition of the inhabitants. 
An attempt was soon afterwards made to induce the President to 
take forcible possession of New Orleans, and place there a sufficient 
militia force to defend the navigation of the Mississippi ; but this 
was soon afterwards abandoned. 

HIS state of dissension and anxiety was ended 
by the reception of most unexpected news from 
France. War had suddenly occurred between 
that power and England, and so empty was 
the French treasury, that Napoleon gladly 
caught at the overtures of the American govern- 
ment, and, instead of selling merely New Or- 
leans, agreed to yield the whole of Louisiana for the sum of eleven 
and a quarter millions of dollars, in six per cent, stock. A treaty to 
this effect had been executed by the American envoys, and thus 
a territory computed at one million square miles, was obtained by the 
new republic. In the same year, the Kaskaskia Indians surrendered 
to government their valuable territory, lying along the Mississippi, 
Ohio, and Illinois rivers. 

These events had scarcely transpired, when a difficulty arose from 
another quarter. In the year 1800, the Bashaw of Tripoli showed 
a disposition to seize our richly laden vessels in the Mediterranean, 
and he now complained of having been treated with less regard than 
the other Barbary states. On the 5*h of May, he addressed a letter 
to the President, demanding large subsidies from the American 
government, and at the same time threatened Mr. Cathcart, our 
minister at Tripoli, that if a satisfactory answer did not arrive in six 
months, he would declare war. Twelve months after, [May 12, 
1801,] he announced that he had declared war, and would take 
down the American flag-staff in two days. This was done, and Mr. 
Cathcart sailed for the United States. Tun's and Atgiers detcr- 
> mined to assist the bashaw, hoping thereby to obtain some of the 
rich prizes which they most sanguinely dreamed of capturing. 

2q2 




4b. 



A JJ MINISTRATION OF THOMAS .TEFFERSO?v 




COMMODORB DALB. 



Before news of the declaration 
of war was received in America, 
government had fitted out a fleet 
in anticipation of such an event, 
and to protect our commerce, h 
was composed of the fr'jates 
President, Philadelphia, Essex, 
and the schooner Enterprise, the 
whole under Commodore Dale. 
On the 1st of July, the commo 
dore arrived off the coast of Gib- 
raltar, where he met the high 
admiral of Tripoli, with two ves 
sols. This functionary denied that his government vA^as at war with 
the United Slates ; and unable to receive more authentic information, 
Dale sailed to Tripoli. Ascertaining the situation of affairs, he imme- 
diately commenced a blockade of the port. 

On the 1st of August, Lieutenant Sterret, on his way to Malta in 
the Enterprise, encountered the Tripolitan ship-of-war Tripoli, of 
twelve guns, under Rais Mahomet Sous. After an incessant cannon- 
ading of three hours' length, within pistol-shot range, the enemy 
struck. His loss was twenty killed and thirty wounded ; Sterret did 
not lose a man. On the 21st of August, P:ile captured a Greek 
ship bound for Tripoli, laden with merchandise, and having on 
board one Tripolitan officer, twenty-four soldiers, fourteen merchants, 
and five women. An exchange of pr'soners was effected with the 
bashaw, after which the commodore abandoned the blockade and 
sailed for Tripoli. 

N February, 1802, Congress authorized the 
President to take immediate measures for the 
protection of commerce in the Mediterranean, 
and for the fitting out of ships to subdue, 
seize, and make prize of all vessels, goods, 
and efl^ects belonging to the Bashaw of Tri- 
poli or his subjects, and to send the same 
into port. He accordingly ordered to the 
relief of Commodore Dale, the Enterprise, of twelve guns. Captain 
Sterret ; the Constellation, thirty-six, Captain Murray ; the Chesa 
peake. forty-four, Captain Morris ; the Adams, thirty-two, Captaif 
Campbell; the New York, thirty-two. Captain Barron; and '.he 




WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 



4d3 




a B NB RAL S AXON 



lohn Adams, thirty-two, Captain Rodgers. These vessels were 
to sail as soon as they could be equipped, the whde under the 
comiuand of Captain Morris. That officer reached Gibraltar in 
May, and during the two following months was enoaoed in block- 
ading the enemy at that port, and watching the Em per. .r of Morocco, 
who had also declared war. But a treaty was cuncludid with him 
in August, and Morris sailed for Tripoli. Beiiig pres'ented from 
approaching the coast by a violent storm of wind, he bore away to 
Tunis, the bey of which country had lately assumed a hostile 
attitude. Several audiences with this personage had resulted in 
nothing but mutual ill-feeling ; and General Eatun, the American 
minister, was even preparing to leave the country. 

A project, of rather a romantic character had for some tnne been 
carried on by Eaton, in order to facilitate operations against the 
Bashaw of Tripoli. This ruler was the younger of two Drothers, 
nut had unj-iwfully seized the throne and driven his relative into 



464 ADMINISTRATION OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

exWe. Hamet, the defrauded prince, seems to have been popular 
among the Tripolitans ; and Eaton conceived the project of espousing 
his cause, and thus avenge the reigning bashaw's insults to the 
United States by driving him from the throne. Hamet eagerly 
closed with this scheme ; and the bashaw becoming alarmed, made 
overtures of reconciliation with his brother, offering him the s;^overn- 
ment of Derne. He would have consented to this, but for the repre- 
sentations of Mr. Eaton, who induced him soon afterwards to sail for 
Malta. Here he remained for a time, while Eaton returned to the 
United States, in order to induce his government to lend the neces- 
sary aid for placing the rightful sovereign on the throne of Tripoli. 
Shortly after, his place as consul was supplied by Mr. Cathcarl 
while Eaton received the appointment of naval agent for the Barbary 
States, with the view of aiding the operations of the Mediterranean 
squadron against Tripoli, by forwarding the rights of the exiled 
Hamet bashaw. In June, he again embarked for Africa, in the 
frigate John Adams, which, with the President, Congress, Essex, 
and Constellation, constituted a reinforcement lo the furiner squadron. 

AKLY in June, 1803, Commodore Morris 
made proposals of peace to the ruler of 
Tripoli. He modestly asked two hundred 
thousand Spanish milled dollars, and the 
expenses of the war, before he would em- 
brace the commodore's overtures. Morris 
then offered him a present of five thousand 
dollars, but the verbal answer of the haughty 
prince was, "that the business was at an 
end, and that he must depart immediately." Soon after, Morris was 
recalled by governnient, and his conduct during the expedition sub- 
nnitted to the examination of a court-martial, by which he was cen- 
sured for inactive and dilatory conduct. 

During the blockade of Tripoli by the John Adams, under Captain 
Rodgers, she captured the Meshonda, of twenty guns, belonging to 
the Emperor of Morocco, who had purchased her of the bashaw. 
Being sent to Tunis with a cargo, she violated the blockade, and was 
taken. 

On the 27th of June, Captain Rodgers observed a large vessel 
anchored within the Bay of Tripoli, while a number of gun-boats 
6lied with armed men, approached to her relief. About nine o'clock 
A M., of the 28th, a fire was opened upon her fror-i the John Adams, 




CAPTURE OF COMMODORE BAINBRIDGE. 



465 



Ahich being returned, the action continued on both sides for about 
i'ort3'-five minutes. The firing then ceased until a quarter before 
ten, when it was renewed with such fury that the enemy's ship 
blew up, bearing with her many of the crew. This vessel mounted 
twenty-two guns, and was the finest one in the Tripolitan service. 

Meanwhile, a reinforcement to the Mediterranean service had 
been despatched from the United States, under Commode re Preble, 
who was to command the whole force in that quarter. 

On the night of August 20, Captain Bainbridge, ir. the Philadel- 
phia, fell in with a ship and a brig, both Moorish vessels. The 
former proved to be the Meshboha, of twenty-two guns and one 
hundred men. On intimating that the brig was an American, Cap- 
tain Rodffers gave orders to search the main vessel, when the captain 
and part of the crew of the American brig Ceh'a were found to be 
confined below deck. Upon this discovery, the officers of the Mesh- 
boha were ordered on board the Philadelphia, and their cruiser taken 
into custody. Next day the Celia, which had escaped, was recap- 
tured. The John Adams then sailed for Morocco, where, about the 
middle of October, Bainbridge concluded a treaty with the emperor, 
restoring to him the Meshonda and Meshboha. 

Soon after this event. Captain 
Bainbridge, while pursuing a Tri- 
P')litan vessel, ran aground on the 
rocks near the city, and was un- 
able to get his vessel off. He 
was almost immediately attacked 
by the enemy's gun-boats, ana 
after a contest of five hours, 
obliged to strike his colours. The 
captain and crew were taken on 
shore, but all efforts to remove 
the Philadelphia were unavail- 

OOMMODORK BAINBRID3K. 

On the 3d of February, 1804, Stephen Decatur, in the Siren ana 
Intrepid, was sent by Commodore Preble, commandant of the Medi- 
terranean squadron, to burn the grounded vessel. This he accom- 
pHshed in the Intrepid, on the night of the 16th, although all the 
guns of the frigate were mounted and charged, and she lay within 
half gunshot of the bashaw's castle and principal battery. Two 
Tripohtan cruisers were lying within two cables' length, on the star 

69 




466 



ADMINISTRATION OF THOYAS JEFFERSOIT. 



board quarter, while all the batteries 
on shore were opened on the assail- 
ants. But one American was wound- 
ed. It was one of the most daring and 
gallant achievements of the war, and 
Decatur received from Congress a 
sword and captain's commission, and 
each of his officers and crew two 
months' pay. 

On the 21st of July, Commodore 
Preble, with six vessels and eight 
gun-boats, carrying one thousand and 
sixty men, appeared before the harbour of Tripoli, which was de- 
fended by nineteen gun-boats, two galleys, two schooners of eight 
guns each, a brig of ten guns, land batteries mounting one hundred 
and fifteen heavy cannon, and by twenty-five thousand Arabs and 
Turks. On the 3d of August, the first bombardment of Tripoli 
commenced, accompanied by a general attack upon the gun-boats in 
the harbour. A tremendous fire was kept up for some hours upon 
the town, and answered by the enemy's whole train of artillery. 
Meanwhile, with the most daring bravery, Decatur attacked the 
gun-boats in the harbour, and succeeded in capturing or destroying 
several, although so close was the contest that the gallant captaii 's 
life was several times in imminent danger, and on one occasion 'e 
had but nine men against thirty-six. The Americans lostLieutena t 
J. Decatur killed, and thirteen men wounded. The loss of tht- 
enemy was much greater. 

On the 7th of August, the squadron approached the harbour, in 
order to silence a seven gun battery. This was effected, although 
one of the captured gun-boats was blown up, carrying with her 
Lieutenant Caldwell, Midshipman Dorsey, and ten others. In this 
second attack, lorty-eight shells and five hundred twenty-four pound- 
shot were thrown into the town. On the night of the 24th, another 
attack was made upon the city, which lasted until da^^light. It was 
renewed at half-past one of the 28th, when a warm action took 
place between thirteen of the enemy's gun-boats, supported by their 
batteries and the gun-boats and smaller vessels of the squadron. 
One of the enemy's vessels was sunk, and two more were disabled. 
The cannonade was renewed on the 3d of September, with much 
injury to the bashaw's castle. 




EXTERPRISE OF GENERAL EATON. 




B0M3AHDM3NT OF TBIPOLL 



About tb^'.- time, the Intrepid was sent into the harbour of Trip iJi 
to destroy the flotilla, and throw a quantity of shells into the town. 
Captai'i Somers, and Lieutenants Israel and Wadsworth, volunteered 
fo> this dangerous service. One hundred barrels of powder, and a 
nundred and fifty shells, were put in her hold, with a contrivance 
by which it could be fired, and yet allow the crew time to escape. 
When near the place of destination, she suddenly blew up, carrying 
with her, as is supposed, the three officers. The consternation pro- 
duced among the enemy by this event is indescribable. No clue to 
unravel the fate of the heroic adventurers was ever obtained. 

On the lOih of September, Commodore Barron arrived with the 
President and Constellation, and assumed command. Preble returned 
to the United States. 

Meanwhile, General Eaton, having returned to the Mediterranean, 
had been prosecuting his scheme in favour of Hamet bashaw, and 
at the time of the last bombardment of Tripoli, actually threatened to 
drive the reigning bashaw from the throne, after raising a smaL' 
army in Egypt, consisting of Mamelukes, Arabs, and a number of 
adventurers. On the 3d of March, they left Alexandria for Derne 
travelling through the Libyan desert, an.d encountering hardships 01 
t«very kind. On me '25th of April, they appeared before the laitei 



468 ADMINISTRATION OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. 




c\'y, where Eaton offered the governor terms of amity, but received 
the haughty answer, " My head or yours !" 

On the morning of the 27th, the battle commenced by the Tri- 
politans firing upon the Ar^-us, Hornet, and Nautilus, which had 
stood in to second the attack. The enemy's naval batteries were 
soon silenced, but on land they gained so much advantage, that in 
order to prevent discouragement, Eaton charged their works with 
fifty men. Although the enemy numbered seven to one, they fled, 
jeaving their battery in the hands of the Americans. During the 
charge, Eaton was wounded in the wrist. 

This success was followed by the capture of the bey's palace, 
which placed the city in possession of the Americans. The bey 
«2scaped, and while fleeing toward Tripoli, was met by about one 
th.iusand of the bashaw's troops, who had been despatched to his 
rtlief. This force pressed towards Derne, and after defeating aboui 
one hundred of Hamet's cavalry, entered the city, and forced their 
way to the bey's pplace. Here they were repulsed by the Ameri 
can batteries, and tlnvet: ii./.o the fields. Soon after, they were 



TKEATY WITH THE BARBARY POWERS. 



469 




totally defeated by Harriet's troops, in a battle fought in the Barbary 
fashion, without the intervention of either Americans or Europeans. 
But this fair prospect of driving the reigning bashaw from the 
thrcne, was dissolved by the conclusion of a treaty with that prince 
by Commodore Rodgers, who had superseded Barron. By this 
instrument the Americans secured to themselves all that had been 
demanded at the opening of war, together with a complete amnesty 
fsid suitable provision during life for Hamet and his followers. 

Commodore Bainbridge and his crew 
were restored to liberty after a morti- 
fying captivity of more than nineteen 
months. 

We now turn to the closing events 
of Mr. JefTerson's first presidential 
term. During the year 1804, go- 
vernment acquired from the Dela- 
ware Indians a valuable auvi exten- 
sive territory situated between the 
Wabash and Ohio, and commanding 
the navigation of the latt-^r river for 
three hundred miles. In the same 
vf?ar the President organized the district of Mobile for the collection 
30 2U 




AA.RON BURR. 



470 ADMINISTRATION OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

of duties on imposts and tonnage, having Fort Stodderl for the port 
of entry and delivery. 

In July, 1804, occurred the memorable duel between General Ila 
nulton and the Vice-President, Aaron Burr. Certain offensive pub- 
lications having appeared in one of the journals of the day, Colone 
Burr suspected Hamilton of being the author, and in a letter required 
his acknowledgment or denial of the fact. Hamilton refusing to give 
either, received a challenge, accepted it, met Burr, and fell at the 
first fire. No similar event ever caused so much sensation through 
out the United States as the news of this fatal duel. By his great 
talents, powerful eloquence, and gentlemnnly conduct, Hamilton had 
become the idol of the federal party, and the admiration of all his 
countrymen. Extraordinary honours were paid to his memory, while 
for the future Burr was regarded with detestation. 

On the 4th of March, 1805, Mr. Jefferson entered upon his second 
term of office. Burr was succeeded in the Vice-Presidency by 

George Clinton, of New York. At 
this time the ajrgressions of (^reat 
Britain upon the seamen and com- 
merce of the United States called 
for serious interference on the part 
of government. The strict neu- 
trality niaintained by Congress had 
secured to our merchants a lucra- 
tive and growing trade in the West 
Indies, v^-hich soon excited the < nvy 
of England. Many large vessels 
trading to the French colonies wertj 
captured and condemned by the 
British. In May, 1806, some of the principal French ports wei 3 
declared in a state of blockade; while in November, of the same year. 
Napoleon issued his famous Berlin decree, declaring all the British 
islands under blockade. Neutral vessels were thus prohibited from 
trading with either country. 

At the same time England continued to search American ves- 
sels, and impress their seamen into her own service, A most 
aggravated instance of this occurred in June, 1807. On the 6th of 
March previous, the British consul at Norfolk had demanded of 
Captain Decatur three of the Chesapeake's crew, deserters, as he 
alleged, fronj the British ship Melampus. On inquiry they were 




AFFAIR OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 




AFFAIR OF THS 0HXSAFSAK2. 



found to be native torn Americans. On the 22d of April the Chesa- 
peake sailed for the Mediterranean, under Commodore Barron ; but, 
after passing through the British squadron, she was stopped by the 
English ship Berkeley, and an officer sent on board demanding the 
three men. On his returning to the Leopard with a refusal of the 
demand, that vessel opened a heavy fire, which continued thirty 
minutes, when the Chesapeake struck her colours. She was then 
boarded, her crew mustered, and four men carried to the British 
vessel. The Chesapeake lost three men killed, and eighteen wounded ; 
and was so much injured in her hull and rigging as to be obliged to 
'eturn to Hampton Roads. 

News of this outrage was received throughout the country with a 
burst of indignation. The inhabitants of Norfolk and Portsmouth 
passed unanimous resolutions discontinuing all communication be 
tween the shore and the British ships. At the same time two hun- 
dred hogsheads of water, for the use of the squadron, were destroyed 
b) the people ; and to the consequent threat of the English captain 
to stop all vessels trading to Norfolk, he was answered that peace or 
war was at his pleasure. On the 2d ^f July, the President issued a 
proclamation forbidding communication with British armed vessels, 

59 



1T2 



ADMINISTRATION OF THOMAS JEPFEKSON. 




unless in distress or conveying despatches. They were interdicted 
from the waters of the United Slates, two thousand militia were 
ordered to the defence of Norfolk, and one hundred thousand to hold 
themselves in readiness for service. Congress was summoned to 
meet on the 26th of October. The American minister in London 
having demanded satisfaction for the insult, Berkeley's act was dis- 
avowed ; yet he was shortly afterwards elevated to a more important 
station. 

A singular and still unexplained event had taken place previous to 
this time, which for a while caused much ser«5ation throughout the 
United States. This was the supposed treason of Aaron Burr. 
After his retirement from the political arena of the Union, he is said 
to have attempted the secession of the Western States, so as to form 
them into an independent nation; but failing, he endeavoured to per- 
suade the settlers to invade Mexico. This received some encourage- 
ment. He was, however, narrowly watched by government ; and 
General Wilkinson, commandant at New Orleans, having transmitted 



THE EMBARGO ACT. 



473 



to the President an account of the whole enterprise, Jefferson, on the 
27th of November, issued a proclamation forbidding all citizens to 
lend it their encouragement, and ordering the stoppage of the boats 
intended for the enterprise. Burr was arrested in the February fol- 
lowing, and carried to Richmond for trial in the federal circuit 
court. On the 23d of June a true bill was found against him, and 
he was committed to prison, but permitted to remain at his hotel 
under a guard. His trial took place, August 3, 1805; and on the 
31st he was acquitted, on the ground that his offence did not come 
under jurisdiction of the court. The growing difficulties with foreign 
powers enabled him to escape further prosecution, and he soon after 
sailed for England. 

In December, 1807, an embargo was mi posed by government upon 
American vessels, forbidding them to leave their ports, for fear of 
capture. This law continued during the remainder of Jefferson's 
administration, but was very injurious to the eastern states, and ren- 
dered the administration unpopular in that portion of the country. 

In 1808, Jefferson announced his intention of retiring from the 
presidential chair. The ensuing election gave the office of chief 
magistrate to James Madison, the candidate of the republican party. 
Mr. Clinton was re-elected for the Vice-Presidency. They were 
in. jgurated March 4, 1809 ; after which the ex-President retired to 
his seat at Monticello, where the evening of his life was passed amid 
the quiet of hterary pursuits. 




TOMB or OXI^XRAIi HAlffIX.T011 

2b2 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADISON. 

HE opposition to the embargo act of the late ad 
ministration was so decided, that one of the firs: 
acts of Congress after the inauguration of Mr. 
Madison was to repeal it, but at the same time 
prohibiting all intercourse with either France or 
England. Taking advantage of this measure, 
Mr. Erskine, the British ambassador, proposed an 
adjustment of the difficulties between the two n-diions on the basis of 
full satisfaction for the Chesapeake insult, with the restoration of ht* 
men, the withdrawal of the orders in council so far as they related ti 
the United Slates; the appointment of an envoy extraordinary, with 
power to conclude a treaty respecting all the points at issue. This 
was ratitied by the President, who immediately issued a proclama- 
tion permitting the resumption of trade with Great Britain. But 
this pacific appearance was dispelled by news from England dis 
avowing the act of her minister, and ordering his recall. The Pn. 
sident's proclamat'on was consequently revoked. 

Mr. Erskine was succeeded by Mr. Jackson. That gentleman, 
on being asked by the Secretary of Stale why the British govern 
ment had disavowed the proceedings of his predecessor, answerea 
that the latter had exceeded his instructions, and insinuated that the 

474 




AFFAIR OF THE LITTLE BELT. 475 

American government had been aware of that fact at the time. This 
nsulting language was noticed in energetic terms by the Secretary, 
but Jackson replied only by repeating the charge. This personage 
Tministfr Jackson]] even went so far as to make this declaration for 
the third time. He was then informed that for the purpose of facili- 
tating pacific overtures, no communication would in future be received 
vom him. His government then recalled him, and at the expiration 
of a year and a half appointed Mr. Foster to succeed him. 

Before the arrival of Mr. Foster, another exciting event had occur- 
red to threaten the prospects of amity and commerce with England. 
On the 16th of May, 1811, Commodore Rodgers, in the frigate Pre- 
sidont, came in sight of a vessel off the capes of Virginia. On com- 
ing up with her in the evening, the commodore was unable to ascer- 
tain her nation ; and, on hailing her twice, he received for answer a 
shot 'n his mainmast. The fire was returned, and in thirty minutei 
the • 'ranger was silenced. She proved to be the British sloop of war 
Little Belt, of eighteen tons. Thirty -two of her men were killed or 
wounded, and the vessel was considerably injured. 

N the 1st of May, 1810, Congress passed an act 
declaring that if either Great Britain or France 
should, before the 3d of March, 1811, so revoke 
or modify her decrees, as that they should cease 
to violate the neutral commerce of the United 
Slates, which fact the President should declare b\ 
proclamation ; and if the other nation should not 
within three months thereafter revoke its edicts in like manner; — 
then the non-intercourse law should, after the expiration of three 
months from the date of the proclamation, be revived, and havt> f"uU 
force and effect so far as regarded the nation neglecting to revoke 
them, and that the restrictions imposed by that act should be discon- 
tinued in relation to the nation so revoking or modifying her decrees. 
France, ever ready to catch at any thing which might humble her 
rival, declared through her minister [August 5, 1810] that the de- 
crees of Berlin and Milan were revoked ; — at the same time it was 
explicitly stated that the revocation had been made in full confidence 
that the condition would be enforced against Great Britain, if she did 
not annul her orders in council and renounce the new principles ot 
blockade. 

On the 2d of November, 1810, the President announced that alJ 
restrictions on the trade of the United States with France had ceased. 




17(3 ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADISON. 

Great Britain, however, refused to repeal her orders in council until 
the 2t^d of June, 1812. Previous to this tardy and ungraceful act, 
Congress passed laws raisings the military force to thirty-one thousand 
men, completing- the military establishment previously existing, and 
authorizing the President to accept the services of volunteer military 
corps and other armed forces. The Chesapeake, Constellation, and 
Adams, were at the same fitted for sea. On the 14th of March the 
President was authorized to borrow on the credit of the United States 
any sum not exceedinsr eleven niillions of dollars 

At this time another foe reappeared on our westcR border, and 
commenced a series of daring incursions similar inos*^ which, 

dunng the vrar of indepen- 
dence, had almost depopulated 
that fertile region. The In- 
dians, led by the daring 
Tecuniseh and his fanatical 
brother, the Prophet, united 
thetiiselves with the emissa- 
ries of Great Britain to excite 
a war against the United 
States. At a great council 
held at Yincennes, by General 
Harrisrn, governor of the In- 
diana territory, in 1811, Te- 
cumseh not only declared that 
the white man had no right to 
the soil, and that as it belonged 
to the red men in common, no 
single tribe could dispose of 
TEcuMSBH, the part it occupied, but even 

g'rasped his arms in the most determined manner ; and, but for the 
firmness of the governor, and the presence of his soldiers, he would 
probably have been murdered. After this affair the outrages com- 
mitted by the savages were so numerous, that General Harrison, with 
a small force of regulars and militia, marched into the Indian coun- 
try, and on the 6th of November appeared before the Prophet's town 
Here he held a conference with some of the principal chiefs, who 
agreed that both parties should remain quiet until the following morn- 
ing, when a second council was to convene and agree upon terras of 
peace. Notwithstanding this friendly appearance, Harrison, with 




BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



477 




COUNCIL OF VINOBNNaS. 



• he sagacity for which he was ever remarkable, discerned symptoms 
of treachery among the Indians; and, accordingly, posting his h'ttle 
army in an advantageous position, near a place called Tippecanoe, 
he ordered the troops to sleep upon their arms, and in case of attack 
to maintain their ground at all hazards. The event justified this pre- 
caution. Before daylight, on the morning of the 7th, the savages 
furiously attacked the left flank, drove in the picket, and rushed 
upon the camp. But. encouraged by their general, the regulars and 
mounted riflemen gallantly maintained their ground, while Major 
Daviess, with his cavalry, charged their whole line. The latter 
movement was unsuccessful; and, at daylight, the Americans beheld 
themselves nearly surrounded by the enemy, who were pouring in a 
most deadly fire. At this juncture an almost simultaneous charge 
was made with fixed bayonets by the companies of Captain Snelling 
and Major Wells, and the enemy were dislodged. The mounted 
riflemen then dashed forward, and drove the Indians into a marsh. 
About the same time Captain Cook and Lieutenant Larabie charged 
on the right, so that the savages being, driven at all po»itts, were at 
length completely routed. 

In this hard-fought action the Americans lost, in killed and 



478 



ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADIKON. 



w-ovinded, one hundred and eighty-eight; the general estinnateJ the 
los* <jf the Indians at one hundred and fifty. Major Daviess, emi 

nent in Kentucky a? a lawyer and 
an orator, \¥as amongst the slain 
The battle was followed by the 
burning of the Prophet's t' wn. the 
dispersion of the hostile savages, 
and the submission of mt st of the 
tribes in that vicinity. Tecumseh 
was not in this action, being then 
encjaged on a mission to the s luth 
for the purpose of uniting all the 
Indians of that region with those 
at the north, • in a confederacy 
against the United Slates. 
In ihe early part of 1812 the Pre- 
oEUBBAL HABHisoN. si d 6 H t re cei vcd 1 n fo I" ID 1 1 on I hu t an 

■.ndn'idual named John Henry had been employed in 1S09 by Sir 
James Craig, Governor-General of Canada, on a secret agency to the 
United States, having for its object the discovery and fomenting 
«»mong the two great political parties of the country such a spirit of dis- 
satisfaction and haired as would eventually lead to the dissolution of 
the Union. This nefarious mission appears to have been confined 
to the New England states, they being the richest and most influen- 
nal part of the couniry, as well as the most opposed to any declara- 
tion of war with Britain. This information was communicated to the 
President by Henry himself, through the Secretary of State, and 
transmitted to Congress in March. It excited throughout the coun- 
try a strong feeling of indignation, and confirmed the popular opinion 
ds to the difficulty of effecting a cordial reconciliation with Britain. 

On the 20th of May, the Hornet sloop-of-war returned from Europe 
with intelligence that neither England nor France manifested any 
disposition to change their policy towards the United States. At this 
news the President sent a message to Congress, recounting the re- 
peated efforts of our country to effect a treaty of peace, the insulting 
manner in which they had been met by Great Britain, and the out- 
rages practised upon our commerce. "We behold," adds the Presi- 
dent, "on the side of Great Britain a state of war against the United 
States ; and on the side of the United States, a state of peace towards 
rJieat Britain." He then submitted fo~ their solemn consideration the 




WAR v^ITD <iREAT BRITAIN. 



479 



question whether this state of things should continue, or, relying upon 
the mighty Disposer of events, the nation should assert its natural rights 
by opposing force to force. After due consideration of this message, 
the House of Representatives, on the 4th of June, 1812, passed a bill 
specifying the numerous aggressive practices of Great Britain, and 
declaring war. It passed the Senate by a majority of six, and was 
ratified by the President on the 18th. By this act the President was 
authorized to apply the whole land and naval force of the United 
States to carry the same into effect, and to issue to private armed 
vessels of the United Slates letters of marque and reprisal, in such 
form as he should think proper, and under the national seal, against 
the vessels, goods, and effects of the government and people of Great 
Britain and Ireland. It was followed by other acts, providing for the 
organization of the army and navy, the defence of the sea-coast, and 
tlie issue of treasury notes. 




vixw or wASHiiiaTOii 



OOMUODOBX HULl* 



CHAPTER XL. 

CAMPAIGN OF 1812. 



, , HE declaration ot war with Great 

/^""^ Britain was received with differ- 

' ■ ent feelings, by different classes 
of the American community. 
The minority of Congress, the 
Legislatures of Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, and New Jersey, 
and several of the commercial 
cities, protested against it in pub- 
lic addresses. But unquestiona- 
bly the greater portion of the peo- 
ple approved of \.U- act, and 
considered it th« only honourable course which could have been 




INVASIOX OF CANADA. 



pursued by government. It cannot, however, be denied that the 
nation was but ill prepared for a struggle with a power among tht* 
first in Europe, and the acknowledged mistress of the ocean. Until 
the year 1808, the whole military establishment had scarcely 
amounted to three thousand men ; in that year it was augmented to 
nine thousand ; and in January, 1812, Congress had directed twenty- 
five thousand additional troops to be raised. The President waa 
also authorized to accept the services of any number of voluniters, 
not exceeding fifty thousand, and to call upon the state governors for 
one hundred thousand militia. But the act providing- for twenty-five 
thousand regular troops had been passed so short a time previous to 
the declaration of war, that scarcely one-fourth of that number could 
be raised, the great mass of whom were necessarily raw and undis 
ciplined. The militia was a species of force on which little de- 
pendence could be placed. The navy consisted of only ten frigates, 
ten sloops and smaller vessels, and one hundred and sixty-five gun- 
beats, only sixty of which were in commission. 

OR the better regulation of the army, General 
Henry Dearborn, of Massachusetts, was 
appointed to command the northern de- 
partment, and General Thomas Pinckney 
the southern. In April, the President had 
made a requisition upon the local govern- 
ment of Ohio, for twelve hundred men, to 
be placed under the command of Briga- 
dier-General Hull, Governor of Michigan 
Territory. With this force, and detach- 
ments from other regiments, numbering altogether about twenty-five 
hundred men, Hull arrived at Detroit, whence he crossed into 
Canada, July 12, and published a pompous proclamation to the in- 
habitants, in which he assured them of his ability to "look down all 
opposition," and invited them to join his standard. But instead of 
advancing directly upon Maiden, where the enemy had collected, he 
remained inactive at Sandwich until the British had taken Mack- 
maw, and all the neighbouring Indians came pouring down upon 
his troops. The general still showed no disposition for active opera- 
tions, but conducted himself with so much delay and irresolution, as 
to lose entirely the confidence of his officers and troops. 

On the 4th of August, Major Vanhorne, with two hundred men, 
was sent to the assistance of a company of volunteers, who, whik 

SX 28 




182 CAMPAIGN OF 1812. 

escorting a jupply of provisions for the army, were threatened by a 
body of British and Indians. This officer proceeded in so incautious 
a manner, that he was soon drawn into an ambuscade of the enemy 
and defeated with considerable loss. To compensate for this failure, 
Hull issued orders on the 7th for an immediate attack upon Maiden • 
but on the following morning, to the astonishment and indignation of 
both officers and men, the whole army was directed to recross the 
river to Detroit. On the same day, a second unsuccessful attempt 
to open communication with the supplies was made bv e su)all pany 
under Colonel Miller. 

E AN WHILE, General BrocK assumed 
command of the British forces, and after 
erecting batteries within point-blank 
shot of the American lines, summoned 
Hull tosurrender. Receiving a reiu»dl, 
he bombarded the town all that day, 
[August 15,] and part of the next, when 
he crossed the river and prepared tc 
assault the American line. While the 
carrisrn were awaiting his attack with 
coolness, after ha v"ng planted their guns in an advantageous position, 
they were suddenly ordered to n tir»^ into the fort, where their arms 
were stacked, and the artillery-men forbidden lo fire. Being thus 
crowded into a narrow compass, they were cut down so fast that 
Hull soon run up a white flag in token of surrender. The termi of 
capitulation included not only his own troops, but those of Colonels 
Miller and McArthur, and Captain Brush, all of whom were at that 
time absent on difl^erent expeditions. 

The indignation of the Americans at this cowardly and disgracetul 
'ransaction was unbounded. From the language of the general, 
ihey had been led to expect nothing less than the capture of all 
Upper Canada ; and now the blasting of these prospects by the sur- 
render .of an American army, together with a large extent of terri- 
tory, was almost too much for endurance. After his exchange, Hull 
was tried by court-martial, found guilty of cowardice and unofficer- 
like conduct, and sentenced to be shot. In consequence of his age 
and former services, the sentence of death was remitted, but his 
name was stricken from the rolls of the army. 

The officers of General Hull had suspected his incapacity to com- 
mand, long before he gave the final proof of it. This had induced 




GENERAL flAKKISON APPOINTED TO COMMAND. 48o 



EHIfBNCB or FOaT HABRI80N. 

them to ask privntely of the governors of Ohio and Kentucky for 
reinf(jrcemenls, and accordingly twelve hundred militia under Briga- 
dier-General Tupper, and two thousand volunteers under Brigadier- 
General Payne, were sent toward Detroit. On the road, they heard 
of the surrender, and on petitioning that scime competent officer, well 
acquainted with the country, might be appointed to conduct them, 
that post was given to General Harrison, then Governor of Indiana 
Such was the popularity of this able officer, that, although not a 
citizen of Kentucky, he was immediately invested by the governor 
of that state with the chief command of its militia, and the rank of 
major-general. He was also appointed brigadier-general in the 
regular army. On the 3d of September, with two thousand two 
hundred men, he arrived at Piqua, on the Great Miami, whence he 
despatched Colonel Allen, with five hundred men, to the relief of 
Fort Wayne, then invested by the Indians. At the colonel's ap- 
proach, the besiegers fired a little village adjacent to the fort, and 
then retreated. General Tupper was then sent with one thousand 
men, to disperse the enemy at the Rapids of the Miami ; but partly 
through a misunderstanding with General Winchester, Commander 
at Fort Wayne, and partly from defection of the Ohio militia, this 
expedition failed. On the western frontier, however, the small gar- 
ripon of Fort Harrison, under Captr 'p Zachary Taylor, defended 



484 



CAMPA15N OF 1812. 




QUBKNSTOWK. 

themselves against fearful odds, during a night attack by the Indians, 
and although a block-house containing all their provisions was burnt 
to the ground, they drove off the assailants with considerable loss. 
The captain lost two men killed, three wounded. This success was 
followed by incursions into the Indian territory, during which Culcnel 
Campbell destroyed many villao-esand captured a number of warriors, 
with their wives and children. 

Meanwhile, a considerable American force under Brigadier-General 
Bloomfield, was stationed at Plattsburg, and another under Brin;adier- 
General Smyth, at Buffalo. About three thousand five hundred 
militia, with small parties of regulars, were stationed on the Niagara 
frontier, under General Van Rensselaer. The latter resolved on an 
attempt upon Glueenstown, a small place on the Niagara river, eight 
miles below the falls. The assaulting party was divided into a force 
of three hundred regulars, under Lieutenant-Colonel Christie, and 
the same number cf militia under Cui incl Van Rensselaer. These 
were to be fjllowed by the flying artillery, under Colonel Fenwick, 
.he remainder of the regulars under Major MuUany, and the artillery 
&f Colonel Winfield Scott, who had lately arrived from Black Rock. 

Before dayhght on the 13th of October, the array was put in 



CAPTURE OF THE ALERT. 



4S5 



moiion at Lewistown, preparatory to crrssing the river. The em- 
barkation was made in the front of the B/itish batteries on the bank, 
and at Fort George. The fort was carried with the bayonet by 
Captains Ogilvie and Wool. Colonel Tan Rensselaer, althoueh 
severely wounded, succeeded in reinforcing d lonel Christie and 
Captain Wool, and the British were driven back with the loss of 
their commander. General Brock. The American general now con- 
sidered the victory gained, and crossed to Lewistown to fortify his 
camp ; but the British, being reinforced by several hundred Indians, 
renewed the attack with great spirit. At this critical moment, the 
American militia refused to cross the river. The small body of 
regulars under Colonel Scott, being thus cut off from aid, maintained 
their post with heroic firmiuess until completely surrounded, when 
they surrendered. Soon after this battle, Van Rensselaer was suc- 
ceeded by General Smyth, who, after making several unsuccessful 
attempts to enter Canada, retired into winter o'larters. 

Thus the success of the land operations of this first campaign 
rested altogether with the English ; on sea, however, where they 
had so long arrogated to themselves the title of masters, their supe- 
riority was nobly disputed. The accumulated wrongs heaped upi:n 
our seamen by impressment and the "right" of search, caused them 
to receive with ecstasy news of the declaration of war ; and they 
i^iirung forward at once to pour out upon their haug-hty oppressor 
the vials of wrathful justice which had been gathering for years. 

On the 3d of Juiy, Captain 
David Porter, in the new frig-ate 
Essex, of thirty-two guns, sailed 
frf'm Sandy Hook on a cruise to 
the suuth. On the 13th of A u- 
gust. he was attacked by the 
British sloop-of-war Alert, which,, 
after a battle of eight niinutes,. 
was completely silenced, and 
soon after sent into New York 
with the prisoners. This was 
the first ship-of-\^ar taken dur- 
coMMODORE p o s T E B. Ing the Campaign. 

About this tim.e. Captain Isaac Hull, in the Constitution of forty- 
four guns, made his celebrated escape from a British squadron 
of a line of battle ship, four frigates, a brig nnd a schocner, afiei 




486 



CAMPAIGN OF 1812. 




C&PTURB OFTBK GDBBBIia 



a chase of sixty hours. On the 19lh of August he fell in with the 
frigate Guerriere, of forty-nine guns and three hundred men, under 
Captain Dacres. After considerable manoeuvring, during which the 
enemy endeavoured to keep at long ranfie, she ran down upon the 
Constitution, discharging several broadsides, which Hull received 
without returning a shot, until five minutes before six o'clock, when 
he commenced a heavy and well-directed fire. One broadside after 
another was fired with such quick and fatal execution, that in sixteen 
minutes one of the Guerriere*s masts was shot away, and her hull, 
rigging, and sails, were cut to pieces. In half an hour she surren- 
dered, every spar being down except the bowsprit, and the hull so 
shattered that it was found necessary to blow her up. The Consti- 
tution lost seven killed and seven wounded ; the Guerriere, fifteen 
killed, sixt3'^-two wounded, and twenty-four missing. 

On the 13th of October, the sloop-of-war Wasp, of eighteen guns, 
under Captain Jacob Jones, sailed from the Delaware, and on the 
18th fell in with a convoy of six merchantmen, escorted by the sloop- 
of-war Frolic, of twenty-two guns, Captain Whinyates. At half- 
past eleven a. m., the action commenced at the distance of fifty yards, 
and after a heavy fire of forty-three minutes, during which both 
vessels suflTered severely, the Frolic was carried by boarding. She 
was in a shocking condition, her deck, berths, and cabin being filled 
with dead and wounded. Every exertion was made for the comfort 
of the sufferers by the Wasp's crew ; but in the midst of their 
praiseworthy efforts, the British ship Poictiers, seventy-four guns, 



CAPTURE OF THE MACEDONIAN. 



487 




CAPTaRK Of THB FROLIC 



suddenly hove in sight, captured the Wasp and her prize, and cameo 
them into Bermuda. 

This affair was followed by the brilliant victory of Commodore 
Decatur, in the United States, forty-four guns, over the Macedonian 
of forty-nine. After an engagement of an hour and a half, the 
enemy surrendered, having thirty-six killed, and sixty-eight wounded, 
while one of his masts, with most of the spars and rigging, were 
entirely shot away. The Macedonian was commanded by Captain 
Carden, one of the ablest officers in the British navy, who had three 
hundred men and a superior equipment. The gallant Decatur con- 
veyed his prize to New York, where he was received with a degree 
of rejoicing and gratitude similar to that which had already been 
bestowed upon Captain Hull. His loss had been four killed and 
seven wounded, and the United States suffered but little damage. 

Captain Hull having resigned command of the Constitution, was 
succeeded by Commodore Bainbridge, who soon after sailed from 
Boston on a cruise to the West Indies, in company with the Sloop 
Hornet, Captain Lawrence. While Lawrence blockaded the Bonne 
Citoyenne, in the port of St. Salvador, Bainbridge, on the 29th of 
December, fell in with the Java, a British frigate of forty-nine guns, 

61 



488 



CAMPAIGN OF 1812. 



and four hundred men, undp»" 
Captain Lambert. The acti.^n 
commenced about two o'clock 
p. M., and lasted two hdurs, 
during which the Java wms re- 
duced to a complete wreck, not 
having a single spar left. She 
was subsequently blown up, and 
the Constitution put into St 
Salvador. The British loss w;!S 
sixty killed, and more than fine 
hundred wounded ; that of the 
Americans was thirty-four, of 
whom nine were killed. 
Meanwhile, a squadron of British frigates captured the American 
schooner Nautilus, of twelve guns, after a long chase ; and on the 
22d of November, the gun-brig Vixen was taken by the frigate 
Southampton, and carried into the West Indies. 

Before the close of this year, the havoc made upon the enemy's 
commerce had exceeded all previous calculation. When Congress 
met in November, nearly two hundred and fifty vessels had been 
captured by the American cruisers, together with more than three 
thousand prisoners. American privateers swarmed in every sea, 
and the enterprise so conspicuous in the character of the nation ren- 
dered them most formidable opponents. Built with a view to expe- 
ditious sailing, they were generally able to overtake merchant ves- 
sels, and to escape from the fastest frigates of the enemy. These 
advantages were never sullied by inhumanity, and the generosity 
with which in many instances the crews acted, in opposition to the 
love of profit, reflects credit on the national character. 

Two gallant actions performed on the lakes, during the fall, de- 
serve notice in this place. One was the cutting out of two British 
vessels — the Caledonia and Detroit — from the guns of Fort Eric, by 
Lieutenant Elliot and fifty men in small boats, October 9. One of 
the vessels was burnt, and the other, with a rich cargo, brought 
safely to Black Rock. The other was the driving of the Royal 
George into the port of Kingston, thus giving the Americans, for the 
time, complete command of the lake. 

Congress met November 2. In his message, the President re- 
counted the military and naval events of the year, and announced 




ARMISTICE REFUSED, 



489 




CAPTUKE OF THE CALKDONIA AND DaTROIT. 



that Great Britain had offered an armistice, grounded on the repeal 
of the orders in council ; but that as no disposition was manifested 
to abandon the practice of impressment, he had rejected it. Congress 
approved his conduct, at the same time authorizing him to raise 
twenty additional regiments of infantry, and ten companies of rangers. 
A bill was also passed authorizing the construction of four seventy- 
four gun ships, six frigates of forty-four guns, and six sloops-of-war. 
Appropriations of money were also made for defraying the expenses 
of the war 

At the presidential election this year, James Madison was re- 
elected, while Elbridge Gerry succeeded Mr. Clinton as Vice-Presi- 
dent. 




62 



FORT NIAOABA.. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

CAMPAIGN OF 1813. 





HE duty of defending 
the north-weslein territory 
against the victorious Bri- 
tish and Indians, and of 
recovering the ground losl 
by Hull's surrender, was, as we have 
seen, committed to General Harrison. 
It was one of the most arduous nature, 
requiring abilities of the highest order 
to give it even a prospect of success. 
The sufferings endured by the troops 
in this vast wilderness were of the most painful nature. Many of 
the militia were without a covering for their feet, and numbei-s of 
regulars perished for want of clothing. 

General Harrison's plan for the campaign of 1813 was to occupy 
the rapids of the Miami, and, after collecting provisions, to move by 



MASSACRE AT THE RIVER RAISIN. 491 




UA8SA.CR.B AT THS BIVBR RAISIN 

a select detachment upon Maiden. On the 8th of January he pro- 
ceeded to Upper S-^ndusky, va here his f rce was augmented to about 
fifteen hundred men. He had already despatched orders to Genera' 
Winchester at Fort Defiance to advance to the Rapids as soon as he 
had accumulated provisions for twenty days. That officer was to 
build huts there, in order to deceive the enemy by a belief that he 
was goino- into winter quarters. Winchester arrived there on the 
10th of January, and on the 17th despatched Colonels Lewis and 
Allen with six hundred men to the river Raisin. On the road Colo- 
nel Lewis attacked a body of British and Indians at Frenchtown, 
defeated them, and took possession of the place. General Winches- 
ter reached it on the 20th with about two hundred and fifty mien, 
and encan)ped in an open lot, Colonel Lewis's troops being protected 
by pickets. About daylight on the 22d they were surprised by a 
party of British and Indians, and the detachment of General Win- 
chester was thrown into complete confusion and driven across the 
r»ver. All atten)pts to rally were unsuccessful, although made in 
several places by General Winchester, and Colonels Lewis and Allen. 
Being crowded into a small lane, they wer=; shot down on both sides 



ca:\ipatgx of 18 j 3. 




8IEGB OF FOST M3IG8. 

hy the Indians, until the whole bi dy was nearly annihilated. The 
iroops under Colonel Lewis bravely maintained their post, and 
repulsed all efforts of the enemy until General Winchester capitu- 
lated for them. The scene following this defeat was one of butchery 
never witnessed but among savages and their eniployers. When 
General Winchester surrendered, Proctor, the British commander, 
promised that the prisoners should be saved from the fury of the In- 
dians. At noon he marched with the captured men to Maiden, leaving 
a few soldiers with the wounded Americans at Frenchtown. At 
bunrise on the following dny, the Indians, who had accompanied h.m, 
returned to the village, and fired the houses containing the disabled 
prisoners, thrusting back all those who endeavoured to escape. Others 
met their death in the streets ; and a number, after being tomahawked, 
were dragged out into the highway. This horrible affair of the mas- 
sacre at the river Raisin has fixed an indelible stain upon the name 
of Proctor. 

In consequence of this disaster, General Harrison abandoned his 
designs upon Maiden, and commenced the fortification of his camp, 
which he called Fort Meigs. Here he was attacked in the latter part 
i>l April, by General Proctor, with his vict^'riuas army of British and 



YORK TAKEN THE AMERICANS. 



Indians. On the 1st of May the enemy opened a heavy fire from 
their batteries, which was continued until late at night, but without 
producing much effect on the well-constructed works of the garrison 
Thus disappointed. Proctor transferred his guns to the opposite side 
of the river, and opened a fire upon the centre and flanks of the 
camp. The cannonading continued several days; that of the Ame- 
ricans producing much execution, although from a scarcity of ammu- 
nition they were compelled to economize their fire. An altentpt by 
General Clay to raise the siege was defeated by the insubordination 
of his troops. Many valuable lives w^ere lost, and atrocities were 
committed upon such of the Americans as were captured by the Indians. 
At length, on the 9th of May, Proctor, finding that he could make no 
impression upon the fort with his batteries, and that his allies, disap- 
pointed in their hopes of scalps and plunder, were deserting him m 
numbers, embarked and sailed down the river. Their force is sup 
posed to have been upwards of one thousand men, wiih as many In- 
dians — the latter under the celebrated Tecumseh. The American 
garrison seldom exceeded twelve hundred men, only a small portion 
of whom were regulars. The loss during the siege, except that 
caused by the unfortunate attempt of General Clay, was not great. 

On the 25th of April, General Dearborn, with seventeen hundred 
men, left Sackett's Harbour, for an attack on York, the capital of 
Upper Canada. On the 27th the army effected a landing, though op- 
povsed by eight hundred British and Indians. Major Forsyth, with 
his riflemen, first gained the shore, followed by General Pike, who 
formed his troops on the water-edge, and then pressed on in regu- 
lar column. After carrying one of the batteries they were ad- 
vancing upon the main works, when an explosion of one of the ene- 
my's magazines hurled amid their ranks masses of stone and tiniber, 
one of which killed General Pike. Colonel Pierce assumed com- 
mand ; and, notwithstanding the momentary pause occasioned by this 
untoward accident, he pushed forward and carried the British works. 
At five o'clock the Americans took possession of the town. The 
land and naval forces were surrendered prisoners of war, and all 
public stores given up. Two hundred and ninety-one officers and 
privates were taken prisoners, and four hundred killed or wounded. 
The Americans lost three hundred and twenty men, of whom two 
hundred and sixty were killed by the magazine explosion. 

General Dearborn next made a descent upon Fort George, whicli 
was liiken after a spirited resistance. The garrison having receivt i 

2T 



•191 



CAMPAIGN OF 1813. 




DBATH or OSNIBAL PIKB. 



reinfnrcements and retired to Burlinorton Heights, Generals Chandler 
and Winder were detached to cut off its retreat. These generals 
were surprised at night, captured, and their forces driven back to 
Fort George. A similar result attended an expedition to Beaver 
Dams, — the party under Lieutenant-Colonel Boerstler being sur- 
rounded, and compelled to lay down their arms at the head of the 
British column. 

At the departure of General Dearborn for York, he had intrusted 
the command of Sackett's Harbour to Brigadier-General Brown, of 
the New York militia, whose collected force amounted to about five 
hundred militia, with an equal number of regulars, seamen, and vo- 
lunteers. The militia and volunteers, under Colonel Mills, formed 
his first line, being posted behind a hastily constructed breastwork ; 
the regulars, under Colonel Backus, composed the second line ; while 
some seamen, under Lieutenant Chauncey, were stationed at the 
navy-yard. These arrangements were scarcely completed, when, 
on the 29ih of May, Sir George Prevost landed with one thousand 
picked me.'> and, after defeating the militia, with the loss of their 
colonel, advan ^d against the village. About one hundred militia, 
under General r-own, unitmg with the regulars under Colonel 
Backus, severely anuv yed the enemy; and, when forced to retire, 
hey took possession of some ?ieighbouring houses, and poured up<>n 



DEFENCE OF FORT STEPHENSON. 



495 



SACKSTT a HARBOUR. 



the assailants so well-directed a fire that they were driven back. 
Their rout was completed by a stratagem of General Brown, by 
which he induced them to re-embark so rapidly as to leave behind 
most of their wounded and prisoners. Their loss was iweniy-fiiur 
killed, twenty-two wounded, and thirty-three taken prisoners : that 
of the Americarjs one hundred and fifty-six in killed, wounded, and 
missing. Shortly after this important victory, General Brown was 
appointed brigadier-general in the regular army. 

N the 20ih of July the British and Indians made 
another attack upon Fort Meigs, where they were 
again defeated after a siege of eight days. Gene- 
ral Proctor, with five hundred regulars and eight 
hundred Indians then determined upon an attack 
on Fort Stephenson, garrisoned by one hundred 
and fifty men under Major Croghan. The Bri- 
tish landed on the first of August, and opened a heavy fire from some 
six-pounders and a howitzer. The Americans had but one piece of 
artillery, which was moved from place to place, so as to make the 
enemy believe there were several. The firing continued all next 
day until late in the evening, when, after skilful manoeuvring, the Bri- 
tish marched to the attack in two columns, led by Colonels Short and 
Warburton. The first, numbering three hundred and fifty men, had 





arrived as far as the ditch, when the piece of artillery opened upon 
ihenn with fearful effect, killing their colonel, with numbers of his 
nnen, and driving the remainder into the woods. A sir^ilar fate 
attended the other column. Proctor immediately withdrew his forces, 
leaving behind, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, about one hundred 
and fifty men. To the wretched sufferers in the ditch the brave gar- 
rison extended all the aid in their power, carrying them water and 
other necessaries at the risk of their own safety, and even making an 
opening in the picketing, so that they could crawl in. For this bril- 
liant defence, which was one of the most glorious achievements of 
the war, Croghan and his men received the thanks of Congress. 

Meanwhile the earnest representations of General Harrison had 
awakened government to the necessity of obtaining a naval supe- 
riority on LaJ^e Erie, so that two brigs and several schooners were 
ordered to be built at the port of Erie, under the directions of Com- 
modore O. H. Perry. On the 2d of August this officer was enabled 
to sail in quest of the enemy, whom he encountered on the 10th of 
September. The American fleet consisted of nine small vessel.s, 
carr; ing fifty-four guns ; the British of six vessels, carrying sixty-three 
guns. The battle commenced about noon, between Perry's flag-shin, 
ihe l^iwrence, of twenty guns, and the whole British fleet. After a 



BATTLES OF LAKE ERIE A^^D 'IHE THAMES. 



497 



close contest of two houfs, during which the romfuning Annerican 
vessels were unable to come up, the Lawrence was silenced, and 
every thing seemed to promise the British a speedy victory ; but, at 

this crisis, Perry crossed to the 
second ship, Niagara, in an 
open boat, renewed the action 
with the greatest vigour, and 
soon compelled the opposing 
fleet to strike its colours. 

This victory was bought with 
the loss of two officers, and 
twenty-five men killed, and 
ninety-six wounded ; the Bri- 
tish had forty-one killed, and 
ninety-four wounded. Not only 
did the event occasion the 
greatest joy throughout the 
country, as being the first victory gained over a British fleet, but 
also, inasmuch as it gave the American army under General Harrison 
an opportunity to cross into Canada, and retrieve the losses of the 
former campaign. 

On receiving information of the loss of his fleet. Proctor imme 
diately abandoned Maiden, which was taken possession of by Harri 
son and Governor Shelby. On the 2d of October the Americana 
moved forward in pursuit of the British, whom they overtook on the 
5th, drawn up in line of battle, on a narrow isthmus covered with 
trees. The regulars, under Proctor, were covered by the river, and 
Tecurnseh's Indians by a morass. Colonel Johnson, with the mounted 
volunteers, was ordered to charge the Indians, while the main army, 
under Harrison, charged the British. So impetuous was the onset, 
that both the eneniy's lines were immediately broken, and to the 
number of eight hundred men they threw down their arms and sur- 
rendered. Proctor effected his escape. Notwithstanding this loss, 
the Indians continued to fight with desperate valour, until their great 
chief Tecumseh was killed, when they fled in all directions. 

In this decisive action the victors had only seven killed, and 
twenty-two wounded. The British and Indians lost nearly one hun- 
dred in killed and wounded, together with large quantities of arms 
and military stores. Harrison now left part of his troops at Detroil 
under General Cass, and sailed with the remainder to Buffalo. 

63 2t2 




498 



CAMPAIGN OF 1813. 




BATTLS or THB THAMES. 



aRLY in the spring of this year, a British order in 
council declared the American coast, from the 
Chesapeake to Rhode Island, in a state of blockade. 
In March, Commodore Beresford made a demand 
for provisions on the inhabitants of Levvistown, with 
an offer of payment. Being refused, he opened a 
bombardment on the 6th of April, which, after con- 
tinuing for twenty-two hours with no effect upon the Americans, be 
abandoned, and sailed for Bermuda. About the same time a squadron 
of four ships of the line and six frigates, under Admiral Cockburn, 
arrived in the Chesapeake. This officer signalized himself by pil- 
laging country seats, farm-houses, and small vessels, plundering 
public and private property, and firing the villages of Frenchtown, 
Havre de Grace, Frederickton, and Georgetown. The British were 
then reinforced by large bodies of troops under Sir John Warren and 
Sir Sidney Beckwith. These officers made a combined attack upon 
Norfolk, but were gallantly repulsed by the seamen and militia in 
rhat vicinity. They then proceeded against Hampton, eighteen miles 
from Norfolk, which they carried after an obstinate resistance. The 
town was given up to the soldiery, who perpetrated outrages upon 




WAR WITH THE INDIANS. 



499 



person and property too revolting to be described. Not long after, 
Admiral Cockburn, with a considerable fleet, perpetrated similar 
devastations along the coast of North Carolina. 

While these events were transpiring in the north and alr.ng the 
coast, serious disturbances had taken place amona the S( uthern In- 
dians. These warriors had been excited by a visit from Tecumseh, 
who had used all his ek quence and influence to bring them into the 
confederation he was at that titise forming against the United States. 
In Septen:ber, 1812, the Creeks defeated a body of Gei-rgia volun- 
teers, but were soon afterwards overawed hy the appearance of Gene- 
ral Jackson in their territory, with twenty-five hundred volunteers. 

On the 30ih of August, Fort Mimms, with its garrison of about 
three hundred planters and settlers, was attacked by six hundred 
Indians under the chief VVeatherford. After a close conflict, the 
assailants cut their way into the works, drove the besieged into 
houses, and set them on fire. Out of three hundred men, women, 
and children, only seventeen escaped. To revenire this massacre. 
General Jackson was sent against the savages with an army of tnirty- 
five hundred militia. On the 2d of November he sent General C(.ffee 
with nine hundred men against a body of Indians posted at Tallu- 
shatchee. The attack was made early on the following morning, 
and after a sanguinary conflict terminated in the annihilation of the 
enemy. A number of women and children were taken prisoners. 
General Coffee lost five killed, and fjrly wounded. 

On the 7th of November Jackson marched with two thousand men 
to relieve some friendly Indians at Talladega, which was then threat- 
ened by the enemy. The enemy were attacked on the 9th ; and, 
after a close struggle, compelled to fly, leaving behind them more 
than three hundred dead warriors. The Americans lost fifteen 
killed, and eighty wounded. A short time subsequent to this. Gene 
ral White destroyed the principal town of the Flillabee tribe, killing 
sixty of their warriors, and capturina two hundred and fifty prison- 
ers. Another victory was obtained over the Indians at Autossee, by 
a force under General Floyd. After a contest of two hours' dura- 
tion, two hundred of their warriors were killed, while the Americans 
lost eleven killed, and fifty-four wounded. 

On the 22d of January, 1814, General Jackson, with a large force 
fought a decisive battle at Emuckfaw Creek, near a bend of the Tal- 
lapoosa. The Indians attacked at daylight; and, after a warm 
action of half an hour, were driven back ; but, returning in a hill*" 



500 



CAMPAIGN OF 1813. 




BA.TTLK or SMCCK'Fa.'V 



while, they made a furious assault on the left, which, with crrent 
difficulty, was sustained. General Coffee charg-ed their flank, when 
they were driven into a marsh. Bein^ enticed from this, the}- were 
once more defeated, and their warriors cut to pieces. The conflict 
on the American ricrht teruiinated in a similar manner. 

On the 14th of March, General Jackson, with ahout three thousand 
men, commenced ani ther expedition against the Creeks. The first 
point of attack was the f(;rtress of Tohopeka, defended by about one 
thousand warriors. The assault was conducted by General C«>flve 
on one side, and General Jacks, n on the other, assisted by cann; ri 
and musketr)^ When these two forces arrived at the breastworks, 
a contest ensued, which, for obstinacy and bl lodshed, has been rarely 
surpassed in Indian warfare. No quaiter was asked or received bv 
either parly. When, towards evening, the action cl 'sed.a wretrhe.l, 
heart-broken remnant, was all that remained of the Creek warriors. 
Only four men had been taken prisoners, together with three hun- 
dred women and children. Five hundred and fift^'-seven warriois 
were found dead upon the ground, besides a great number who per- 
ished in attempting to cross the river. Fifry-five Americans were 
■villed, and one hundred and forty-six wounded. Immediately aft'-r 
his action the American general marched to the Hickory ground, 



TREATY WITH THE INDIAN TRIBES. 



501 




HATTZK OF TOHOPEKa.. 



where he concluded tre^aties of peace with most of the Indian tribes* 
in that vicinity. 

HE naval events of this year were 
not less glorious than those of 1812. 
On the 23d of February, the Hornet 
sloop-of-war, Captain Lawrence, fell 
in with the brig Peacock, of twenty 
guns, Captain Peake ; and, after an. 
action of thirty minutes, reduced her 
to a complete wreck. The Ame- 
ricans lost one killed, and three 
wounded. The Peacock sunk before all her crew could be removed,, 
Airrymfr with her three Americans and nine British. For his gui- 
32 




502 



CAMPAI(4N OF 1813 



iantry in this action, Lawrence was promoted to the command of the 
Chesapeake. He found several of the officers sick, many of the 
crew newly enlisted, and the remainder dissatisfied at the withhold- 
ing of their prize-money. Being unfortunately too uninindful of 
these incidents, Lawrence sailed on the first of June from Boston, in 
quest of the British frigate Shannon. Unknown to Lawrence, thig 
vessel had recently been fitted out with a picked crew and superior 
equipment, and had sent a challenge for the Chesapeake one day 
after the sailing of the latter, but which, unf(jrtunately, Lawrence did 
not receive. The action commenced at half-past five ; and in a very 
short time the fire from the Shannon proved so destructive that the 
Chesapeake^s sailing-master, and four lieutenants, were killed or 
wounded, and her rigging was so much injured that she fell aboard 
the enemy. Captain Lawrence was also wounded, but remained on 
deck giving his orders with perfect composure. Soon after, the Bri- 
tish commander, Captain Broke, boarded with his marines, when 
Lawrence, receiving a third and mortal wound, was carried below, 
while issuing bis noble order, "Don't give up the ship." The hand- 
ful on deck were soon overpowered ; and, for the first time during 
the war, the British flag was placed over an American frigate. In 
[his desperate and sanguinary battle Captain Broke was wounded, 
his first lieutenant killed, and seventy-nine others killed or wounded. 
The Chesapeake lost seventy-seven killed, and about ninety-seven 
wounded. The death of the gallant Lawrence spread a feeling of 
deep sorrow throughout the country. 

N August, Captain Allen, in the 
brig Argus, after a very suc- 
cessful cruise, was met by the 
British war-sloop Pelican, of 
rather superior force. A battle 
ensued, [August 14,] which, 
after lasting an hour and a half, 
terminated in the capture of the 
American vessel, — her captain, 
first lieutenant, and many of the 
seamen, being severely wound- 
ed, most of her rigging shot 
hway, and the British frigate Sea-Horse heaving in sight. Subse- 
quently Captain Allen died of his wounds, and was buried in En? 
land The mortification caused by this event was, in some measure. 




NAVAL ACTIONS. 503 

disfipated by the capture of the British brig Boxer, [September 4,] 
of fourteen guns, by Lieutenant Burrows, in the brig Enterprise, ot 
fourteen guns. 

This year, like the former, was noted for the enterprise and suc- 
cess of the American privateers against the enemy's commercial 
vessels. Victories were sometimes gained even over English armed 

ships. Few naval actions were 
ever more desperate and gal- 
lant than that fought by the 
Privateer, Decatur, of seven 
guns and one hundred and 
three men, with the schooner 
Dominica, of fifteen guns and 
eighty-eight men, in which the 
latter, after a two hours' action, 
was carried by boardinof. 

During this year the Empe- 
ror of Russia offered his ser- 
vices to mediate between Eng- 
land and the United States, as 
the common friend of both countries. This was accepted by Pre- 
sident Madison, who named John d. Adams, Albert Gallatin, and 
James A. Bayard, as commissioners. But Great Britain declined to 
treat under the mediation of Russia, proposing a direct negotiation 
at London or Gottenburg. This the President accepted, and added 
Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell to the commissioners already 
appointed. 

During the session of Congress, a loan of twenty-five million dol- 
lars, and the issue of treasury notes for fi*e millions, were authorized, 
and provisions made for the increase of the army and the better de- 
fence of the sea-coast. 




DIPENCB OF /OBT 03WB00 



CHAPTER XLII. 

CAMPAIGN OF 1814. 

HE opening of this campaign on the nortn- 
eastern frontier was not calculated to dispel the 
gloomy feelings with which the Americans had 
been oppressed by the result of former operations 
in that quarter. The termination of the war in 
Spain had enabled the British to send over 
large detachments of " Wellington's veterans," 
flushed with victory and eager to add, to their already brilliant fame, 
the renown of performing a triumphant campaign in America. 

Late in March, General Wilkinson sent one division of his army 
under General Brown, to Sackett's Harbour, and then marched 
against the enemy at La Cole Mill. After cannonading this place 
without making the least impression, he returned to Plattsburg, 
having lost, in killed and wounded, one hundred men. The British 
acknowledge a loss of sixty. He was soon afterwards superseded 
by Generar Izard. This was followed by a descent of the enemj 

604 




BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA. 



50/) 




3A.TTLI OF OHIPPK-WA. 



upon Oswego, which was yielded only dfler a most gallant defence 
by Colonel Mitchell, who succeeded in saving most of his stores. 
Subsequently, two hundred of the assailants were captured while 
endeavouring to get possession of these stores. 

At midnight of July 2, General Brown made a descent upon Fort 
Erie, which surrendered next morning without resistance. One 
hundred and thirty prisoners were taken. General Brown then 
advanced against three thousand British under General Riall, at 
Chippewa, whom, after a severe action, (July 5,) he defeated, with the 
loss of four hundred and fifty-three killed and wounded, and forty-six 
taken. The total loss of the Americans was three hundred and 
twenty-eight. Soon after, the British were reinforced by troops 
under General Drummond, who moved against the town of Schlosser 
10 capture the American stores. To prevent this. General Scott was 
seni on the Glueenstown road with his own brigade, Towson's artil- 
lery, and the dragoons, and at five in the afternoon, July 25, came 
up with the enemy strongly posted at Bridgewater. Notwithstanding 
the inferiority of force, Scott determined on an attack ; and sending 
to General Brown for a reinforcement, he ordered Captain Towson 
to open with his artillery. A desperate action ensued, during which 
two American regiments, havmg expended their fire, were forced 
back, while at the same time General Riall and many other officer* 

64 2U 



506 



CAMPAIGN OF 1814. 




were captured in another quarter. The enemy's batteries of n-.ne 
pieces still pouring in a terrible fire, General Scott was on the po:nt 
of falling back, when General Ripley arrived with reinforcennents. 
Both armies were now fighting by moonlight, and Ripley, seeinor the 
execution caused by the enemy's cannon, ordered Colonel Miller to 
advance and capture them. This he did, with a decree of gallantry 
which shed the brightest glory on himself and his intrepid regiment. 
About the same time, Ripley drove the enemy's infantry from the 
crest of the hill. The British made three determined efforts to 
recover their batteries, but being repulsed in every direction, they 
withdrew from the field about midnight. In this obstinate battle, 
Generals Brown and Scott were both seriously wounded, and eight 
hundred and sixty killed, wounded, or missing. The British loss 
was eight hundred and seventy-eight, including, among their wounded, 
Generals Drummond and Riall. From its vicinity to the falls, this 
is called the battk3 of Niagara. 

The command of the American army now devolved upon General 
Ripley, who, breaking up his camp at Chippewa, retired with six 
teen hundred men to Fort Erie, which he proceeded to strengthen 
Drummond invested the place on the 4ih of August, and on the next 
day General Gaines arrived and took conmiand of the grrisor 



SIEGE OF rORT ERIE. 



507 




GBSaSAL MILI-Sa. 



The siege and cannonade continued until the loth, when, at two 
o'clock in the morning, the British made a furious assault upcii the 
works, but were repulsed with the L ss of more than nine hundred. 
The garrison lost eighty-four. On t-he 2d of September, General 
Brown arrived, and at noon of the 17th, in company with Generals 
Porter and Miller, njade a sortie from the fort, capturino- the enemy's 
whole line of intrenchments, together with three hundred and eighty 
prisoners, and destroying in half an hour the fruits of forty-seven 
days' labour. His total loss was five hundred and twenty-seven ; 
*hat of the British five hundred, exclusive of prisoners. On the 
night of the '2Ist, the enemy raised the siege. On the 9tL of Octo- 
ber, General Izard arrived, assumed command, destroyed Fort Erie, 
and retired into winter quarters. 

Meanwhile, an( ther British force had attempted a dismemberment 
of the Union. This was to be done by obtaining a naval superiority 
on Lake Champlain, moving down the Hudson and attacking New 
York, thus cutting off the eastern states from the others — it being sup- 
posed that they were wilhng to make a separate peace. Accordingly, 
a large army of " Wellington's veterans" marched toward Plattsburg 
on the river Saranac, near its juncture with Lake Champlain. Afief 
fikirinisiimg with the mUitia, they entered the town on the (iih ol 



508 



CAMPAIGN OF 1814. 





NSRAL MACOMB. 



September, the Americans under General Macomb havinfj retired \c 
the opposite side of the river, and torn up the bridges. They num- 
bered but fifteen hundred, yet 
with this force the general kept 
the enemy in check, who, End- 
ing his efforts to cross unavail- 
ing, erected batteries to annoy 
the American camp. 

On the morningof the 11th, the 
British fleet cf seventeen vessels, 
carrying nineiy-five guns, en- 
gaged the American fleet of four- 
teen sail, and eighty-six guns, 
under Commodore McDonough. 
After an action of more than 
two hours, the British flag-ship struck her colours, a brig and two 




COMMODOBK 



D O N O G H. 



JSATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 



509 




BAT TLB OF LAKI CHAMPLAIN. 



sloops were taken, and three galleys sunk : Captain Downie, the 
comriiander, was killed, with eighty-three of his men ; one hundred 
and ten were w^ounded, and eight hundred and fifty-six — more than 
the whole American force — taken. The victors lost one hundred 
and ten. This glorious victory put an end to a furious cann nade 
of the enemy's land forces, which had continued all day ; while at 
the same time the shores rang with the shouts of the joyful Ameri- 
cans. That night the " veterans," numbering about fourteen thousand, 
fled with such haste to Chazy, eight miles distant, that their flight 
was not discovered until the next morning. The American land 
forces numbered about forty-five hundred, of whom three thousand 
were militia. The American loss was only ninety-nine. 

Early in the spring of this year, the British government had de- 
clared the whole coast of the United States under blockade, and 
portions of their naval force attacked with greater or less success the 
towns of Eastport, Stonington, Castine, and others. Early in August, 
Ad[nirals Cochrane and Malcolm entered the Chesapeake with a 
large fleet and army, part of which were ordered up the Potomac, 
part higher up the Chesapeake, while tfie main body under General 
Ross landed at Benedict, on the Patuxent, August 19. The Ameri- 
can force of three thousand men, mostly mihtia, under (General 

2c2 



fiTO CAMPAIGN OF 1814. 




BLADENSBUR3. 



Winder, retired before him, until at Bladensburg it was reinforced 
by twenty-one hundred men under General Stansbury. Commodore 
Barney with his sailors also joined him, having destroyed his flotilla. 
A battle took place at Bladensburg, in which, although the militi,* 
fled as soon as the enemy were in sight, Barney and Colonel Miller, 
with the marines, nobly sustained the charge, and but for their small 
number would have driven back the assailants' whole army. At 
length this little band were attacked in front and on both flanks, 
by three times their own number, and both their leaders beinjr 
severely wounded, they were driven off' the field. Barney and 
Miller were both taken, but, on account of their gallant conduct, 
received the greatest care and praise from the British. 

This victory left the American capital at the mercy of the victors, 
who arrived there under General Ross, at eight o'clock in the eve- 
ning. He offered to retire on condition of receiving a sum of money 
equal to the value of the public and private property. There being 
no authority near competent to enter into such an arrangement, 
he set fire to all the public buildings except the post-office, thus 
destroying all the collections of art at the capitol, together with the 
valuable national and public re«*ords. After this proceeding, which 



BURNING OF THE CAPITOL. 



511 



disgraced the British character, he re-embarked on the '^Oih, having 
lost nine nundred men in killed, wounded, and taken. The Ame* 
ricBUS had one hundred and twenty captured, and ninety killed oi 
wourded. 

Meanwhile, the squadron under Captain Gordon, which had en- 
tered the Potomac, reached Alexandria on the 29th, and forced the 
inhabitants to deliver up all their vessels and merchandise. Having 
by this means collected a rich booty, they rejoined the main fleet 
with the loss of seven killed and thirty-five wounded. The remain- 
ing expedition wns not so fortunate. Being opposed by Colonel 
Reed with a party of militia. Sir Peter Parker received a mortal 
wound, fourteen of his men were killed, and twenty-sev< n wounded. 
The remainder retired to their shipping. 

General Ross m w resolved on an attack upon Bitliimore, where 
he expected to find a large booty. He was destined, however, 
to expeiience an unexpected and bitter reverse. The defence of the 
rity was intrusted to General Smith, assisted by Generals Strieker 
and Winder, the whole American force numbering fib. ut fifteen 
thousand, of whom only seven hundred were regulars. F'ti McHenry 
guarded the approach by water, besides which large vessels had been 
sunk in the channel, and two temporary works erected between the 
fort and the city. On the 12th of September, the British landed 
about five thousand men at North Point, about fourteen rniies below 
Baltimore. They were opposed by General Strieker, near Bear 
Creek, and a skirmish ensued between the advance parties, during 
which General Ri ss was killed. Colonel Brook then assumed the 
command, when ihe battle became general — the Americans slowly 
retiring toward the city. On the following day the British attempted 
to reach their destination by a circuitous route, but failing, they sud- 
denly retreated to their shipping. 

Meanwhile Fort McHenry had been furiously assailed, the enemy's 
whole line of fifty ships bombarding it from sunrise on the liJth, 
until seven the following morning. The garrison, consisting uf one 
thousand men under Major Armistead, gallantly did their duly, and, 
with the assistance of the smaller forts, poured into the opposing 
fleet so well-directed a fire, that on the 15th it descended the Chesa- 
peake, and after taking on board the land forces, joined the remain- 
der of the squadroti. The British lost thirty-nine killed, two hundred 
and fifty-one wounded ; the Americans twenty-four killed, one hua 
drtd and thirty-nine wounded, and about fifty taken. 



512 



CAMPAIGN OP 1814. 




BOUBABBMBNT 01* 70BT M'HXNBT. 



EN the summer of this year, the south-western 
states again became the theatre of active 
operations. In August, a body of British 
troops arrived at Pensacola, and marched 
into the Spanish fort at that place. Their 
commander, Colonel Nicholls, issued a pro- 
clamation to the inhabitants of Louisiana, 
Kentucky, and Tennessee, inviting them to 
secede from the federal government. He 
also made offers of alliance and friendship 
.0 the pirates of Barataria, under their renowned chief Lafitte ; but 
that officer immediately made the whole known to Governor Clai- 
borne of Louisiana, who, pleased with his magnanimity, promised 
pardon to the whole band, on condition of their engaging in defence 
of the country. This was accepted, and from that time the Bara- 
tarians did good service In the American cause. 

On the I5th '^f September, a British squadron of two ships and 
two brigs appeared before Fort Bowyer, which commanded the en- 
Irance into Mobile Bay, and was occupied by a small garrison under 
Major Lawrence. An action commenced at four in the afternoon 




DEFENCE OF XEW ORLEA^^S. 613 

which, alter continuing about three hours, ended m the total discom 
nture of the enemy's force. One of the ships was set on fire, the 
other forced to run aground, and a brig was greatly injured. The 
British loss in the three vessels was two hundred and thirty-four, 
that in the fourth not being ascertained. A land force of one hun- 
dred and ten marines, and two hundred Indians, was also repulsed. 
Four of the g-arrison were killed and five wounded. 

] conduct of the Governor of Pensa- 
la, in admitting the British and In- 
dians within the city, and allow- 
ing them to fit out expeditions 
agamst the United States from 
that port, was CLnsidered by Gene- 
ral Jackson a violation of the 
treaty between Spain and the 
United Slates, which called for 
summary punishment. Accord- 
ingly, on the 7th of November, 
he appeared before that place 
with two thousand men, and en- 
tering the city, compelled the 
authorities to sign a capitulation, 
by which Pensacoia and its dependencies were dehvered up to the 
American government. 

After this act, General Jackson proceeded to New Orleans, which 
he reached on the 2d of December. After guarding all the approaches 
to that city, and providing for the defence of Lakes Borgneand Pon- 
chartrain, he adopted measures to rid the population of the spies and 
traitors which he had good reason to believe were numerous. iMar- 
tial law was proclaimed, an embargo was laid upon all vessels in 
the harbour ; negroes were impressed and compelled to work on 
the fortifications, and the whole militia force of the district was 
called out and placed under arms. 

The British flotilla of forty-three gun-boats, carrying twelve hun- 
dred men, attacked the American force of five boats and one hundred 
and eighty men, on the 14th, and, after a brisk skirmish, compelled 
the latter to surrender. This secured to the enemy the command 
of Lakes Borgne and Ponchartrain, an advantage which they were 
uot slow in improving. Guided by some informers, they took pos 
session of an unfrequented pass on the 23d, captured the pi^'kei 

65 




514 



CAMPAIGN OF 1814. 



guaid, and pushed forward to the bank of the river. On receiving 
news of this movement, Jackson resolved on an imn'iediate attack, 
and, collecting about two thousand men, he marched against them at 
five in the afternoon. The British force numbered about three 
thousand, and extended along the river shore half a mile. The 
attack was commenced by the American schooner Caroline, which; 
lighted by the enemy's camp-fires, opened upon them a galling fire. 
So dark was the evening, that this was the first intimation to the 
British of the Americans being near. At the same time. General 
Coffee with his brigade assailed their right, and General Jackson 
their left. A fierce struggle ensued, which was ended only by the 
occurrence of a thick fog, when Jackson thought proper to call 
off his troops. His loss was twenty-four killed, one hundred and 
fifteen wounded, and seventy-four missing; that of the enemy forty- 
six killed, one hundred and sixty-two wounded, and sixty-four 
missing. The result of this action so inspirited the Americans that 
it may well be considered the cause of the final victory on the 8th 
of January. 

On the 27th, the Caroline ran aground, and was speedily set 
on fire by ihe enemy. Next day the British commander, Sir Edwaid 
Packenhani, furiously assaulted the American works with bombs, 
rockets, and heavy artillery. Little effect was produced, as the de- 
fences were constructed of thick cotton bales, which no balls could 
penetrate. At the same time, the fire from the American batteries, 
and the vessel Louisiana, was so severe that the assailants were 
obliged to withdraw with considerable loss. A similar attempt on 
the night of January 1, 1815, was also frustrated. Soon after, the 
Americans were reinforced by twenty-five hundred Kentuckians, 
swelling their numbers to about seven thousand men. The British 
also received an addition of four thousand men under General Lam- 
bert, swelling their total force to twelve thousand. 

The final assault upon the Americans was reserved for the 8lh of 
January, and was directed against the defences on each side of the 
river. The main army, under the superintendence of the com- 
mander-in-chief, advanced in two columns, led by Generals Gibbs 
end Keane — General Lambert holding the reserve. With fascines 
^nd scaling-ladders, the troops advanced slowly, to within nine 
hundred yards of the works, when the American artillery opened, 
and mowed them down with fearful slaughter. Still pressing on, 
they ercountered the fatal fires of the western riflemen, which soot 




BA.TTLH OF N3W 0RLHAN3. 

Droke both columns, and drove them back in confusion. In rallying 
them, Sir Edward Packenham was killed, and General Gibbs as- 
sumed command. The troops were aaain led forward, and again 
repulsed; and a third attempt met with like result. Gibbs and 
Keane were severely wounded, the whole army thrown into dis- 
tressing confusion, and the plain covered with nearly two l. u- 
sand dead and wounded. General Lambert then collected the 
shattered remains of this once formidable army, and retired to 
the encampment. The Americans lost but thirteen in killed aud 
wounded. 

Meanwhile, the detachment on the left bank, under Colonel Thorn- 
ton, had succeeded in driving the Americans from their works ; but 
they were soon afterwards recovered by a stratagem of General 
Jackson. Here the British loss w^as one hundred and twenty killed 
and wounded; the American, six killed and wounded, and nineteen 
missing. General Jackson's whole campaign at New C^rleans 
was one of the most brilliant in our annals ; and the ba tie of 
the 8th of January is justly regarded as the crowning glory ot 
the war. After this signal defeat, the enemy proceeded to Mo- 
bile Bay, where they took possession of Fort Bowyer, whose gar- 
ri«on numbered only three hundred and seventv-five men. Soon 



516 



CAMPAIGN OF 1814. 




CRnlSH OF THB BSSHX. 




after, the arrival of the news of peace arrested all further pio- 
ceedincrs. 

HE maritirr.e events of 1814 were as stirring 
and important as those of the pre- 
ceding year. In February, Conr)- 
\~ modore Rodo-ers, after a cruise of 

seventy-five days, durino- which he 
captured many of the enemy's ves- 
5 sels, fell in with three vessels of 
war, to one of which, the Phintage- 
net, of seventy-fnur guns, he offered 
battle. This was declined, and Rodgers pursued his way to New 
York. Not long after, the celebrated cruise of Captain Porter was 
terminated by the capture of his vessel, the Essex. For more than 
a year he had maintained a supremacy along the Pacific coast, cap- 
turing or destroying twelve British vessels, and cargoes to the 
amount of more than two millions of dollars. The Phoebe, a British 
frigate of thirty guns, being sent against him. Porter was blockaded 
in the port of Valparaiso for about six weeks. In attempting to get 
to sea, the Essex was struck by a squall, and obliged to run into 
a small bay. Here, in violation of the laws of nations, she was 
attacked by the English captain with two vessels, and after a contest 
of three hours, obliged to strike her colours. Her k ss was fifty- 
eight killed, sixty-six wounded, and thirty-one missing ; that of tht 



CRUISE OF THE WASP. 



617 



enemy five killed and ten wounded. Captain Porter and liis crew 
were paroled and sent to the United States ; but being attacked 
on the way by the Saturn, he gave up his parole, and soon after 
escaped to the United States. 

On the 29th of April, the Peacock of eighteen guns, Captain 
Warrington, captured the brig Epervier, after an action of forty-two 
minutes. Each vessel mounted eighteen guns. The Americans 
had two men slightly wounded ; the British lost eight killed, fifteen 
wounded, besides one hundred ond twenty thousand dollars in specie. 



guns. This vessel snon afterwards sunk. On the 23d of September, 
he captured the brig Atlanta, which he sent to the United States. 
From this period no tidings were ever heard of the Wasp or her 
gallant crew. 

On the 24th of December, Captain Stewart, in the Constitution, 
captured the brig Lord Nelson, off Bermudas. Off Lisbon, he cap- 
tured the ship Susan, with a valuable cargo, and sent her to the 
United States. On the 20th of February, 1815, after an action 
of half an hour, he captured the frigate Cyanne, of thirty-four guns 
and one hundred and eighty men, and the sloop Levant, of twenty- 
one guns and one hundred and fifty-six men. The enemy lost, in 
killed and wounded, seventy-seven; the Americans three killed, 
twelve wounded. The Levant was subsequently recaptured by a 
British squadron. 

On the 15th of January, Commodore Decatur, in the President, 
was chased by the British blockading squadron, consisting of the 
Majestic of seventy guns, and the Endymion, Pomona, and Tenedos 
■y( fifty guns each. At noon he had outsailed all except the Endy 




On the 28th of June, the sloop- 
of-war Wasp, of eighteen guns, 
Captain Blakely, captured the 
British brig Reindeer, of nine- 
teen guns. The action lasted 
two hours, the Americans losing 
five killed and twenty-one wound- 
ed ; the British twenty-five killed, 
forty-two wounded. Continuing 
his cruise, Blakely, on the 1st 
of September, captured a mer- 
chantman, and on the same eve- 
ning the sloop Avon, of twenty 



CAPTAIN BLAKELT. 



33 



2X 



518 



CAMPAIGN OF 1814. 




I3CA.F2 O T r a i HC35«T. 



iDion, \^ h]"ch he engaged at five in ibe afteni<X'n, and after an action 
of two hours and a half, ccmpletelj disabled her. But by this time 
ihe remainder of the fleet bad arrived within gunshot, aod the gallant 
commodore was compelled to strike his colours. 

On the '2Sd of March, the Hornet sloop-of-war, • f eighteen guns. 
Captain B:dd!e. enc^aged the British brig PcDguio, and after an action 
of fifteen minutes compelled her to surrender. Forty-two of the 
enemy were killed or wounded : the Hornet had one man killed 
and eleven wounded. Immediately afterwards. Captain Biddle was 
chased by a British seventv-f: ur. bu: succeezei :n escapinof bv 
throwing his g-uns and other heavy anicies overo:ard. 

Meanwhile, negotiations for peace had been actively carried on at 
Ghent, and on the 24'.h. of Deoe.T.cer, a treaty was signed between 
the ambassadors of the two na: :n5. and ratified by the Prince Re- 
gent of England, on the 2'S'.h of the same month. iBeing transmitted 
to the American government, it was approved by the President, with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, on the ITth of February, 1S15. 
This instrument secured to each nation all the places taken by the 
other during the war. wi:h soro.e insignificant exceptions ; made pro- 
visions for regulatina tho biur- daries of the United States and Cana- 
da, artd of securing- peace with the Indians, i&^th parties agreed !9 
unite their best effwris for the suppression of th^ j^avt- trade. A 



rr .rsc-^' 



i 
i 



"WAR WITH THE BARBART POWERS. 



treaty regulating the commerce betwcrn the two countries was 
signed at London on the 3d of July, and ratified by the President on 
the 22d of December. 

HE termination of hostilities 
with Great Britain aff->rdec 
the Americans an opportu- 
nity to punish the Algerinef 
for their wanton insults upon 
our commerce in th*" Medi- 
terranean. War was accord- 
ingly declared, and in June 
Decatur appeared off the 
Barbary coast with a con- 
siderable squadron. On the 
17th, he captured the Al- 
gerine frigate Mazonda, kill- 
ing thirty of the crew, and taking four hundred and six prisoners 
His own loss v;as but four men wounded. Two days after, he cap- 
lured an Algerine brig of twenty-two guns. Arriving in the harbour 
of Algiers on the 28th, he so intimidated the dey as to compel him 
immediately to sign a treaty, the terms o( which were more lenient 
than had ever before been granted by that nation to a foreign power 
Commodore Decatur then made a present of the captured frigate and 
brig to the dey. On his return he demanded and obtained satis 
faction of the Bey of Tunis and Bashaw of Tripoli, for violations ol 
their treatie-s in permitting British vessels to remove from their pro 
lection American privateers with their prizes. He arrived safely in 
Jie United States, November 12, 1815. 

The national events ot a civil nature during the period of the 
war were of but little historic importance. In the year following 
the conclusion of peace, [1816,] Indiana was admitted into the 
Union as a state, and the charter of the United States Bank was re- 
newed. In the ensuing fall, the presidential election gave the office 
of chief magistrate -9 James Monroe, who entered upon its duties 
March 4, 1817. 




65 




JAMBS MONBOa 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MONROE. 

n.M-niv^iiS^^^^ HE new President entered upon 

the duties of his station under cir- 
cumstances of great encourage- 
ment. Peace had been concluded 
with all belligerent powers, the 
great commotions which had so 
long disturbed Europe had sut)- 
sided, and the energies of the coun- 
try were beginning to recover what 
had been lost during the war. Mr. 
Monroe devoted his exertions to 
the encouragement of manufactures and commerce, and in protecting 
the border settlements against incursions from the Indian-s. In 1817 
the territory of Mississippi was formed into a state, and in the follow- 
ing year Illinois was also admitted. Alabama and Maine were in a 
little while added to the confederacy. 

In 1817, an individual styling himself "Citizen Gregor McGregor, 
Brigadier-General of the armies of the United Provinces of New 
Grenada and Venezuela, and General-in-Chief employed to liberaie 
the provinces of both the Floridas, commissioned by the supreme 

520 




WAR WITH THE FLORIDA INDIANS. 



government of Mexico and South America," landed with a party of 
adventurers at Amelia island, at the mouth of the St. Mary's river. 
These men soon showed that their object was outlawry and aggres- 
sion ; and when their means of perpetrating mischief were exhausted, 
*hey made the island a channel for the illicit introduction of slaves 
from Africa to the United States, an asylum for fugitive slaves from 
the neighbouring states, and a port for all kinds of smuggling. A 
similar estabhshment, but more extensive, was instituted on an island 
in the Gulf of Mexico, near the Texan coast, under the command of 
an adventurer named Aury. These two parties were soon after- 
wards united under the latter individual, who received a further 
accession to his strength by the arrival of about twenty British offi- 
cers thrown out of employment by the general pacification of Europe. 
These outlaws conducted themselves in so outrageous a manner that 
the President was at length obliged to send against them a squadron 
and a battalion of artillery under Captain Henly. On the 22d of 
December he commanded Aury to evacuate the island with his com- 
pany, leaving property as he found it ; which being complied with^ 
possession was taken on the following day. 

Towards the close of the year General Jackson was ordered tc 
assume the command of Fort Scott, so as to keep in check the Semi- 
nole and other Florida Indians, who had lately shown symptoms of 
insurrection. These savages had long been countenanced by the 
Spanish authorities in their incursions into the United States, a cir- 
cumstance which made them peculiarly bold and reckless in the pro- 
secution of hostilities. One of their most aggravated acts was an 
attack upon a boat carrying a number of women and wounded sol- 
diers, under the direction of Lieutenant Scott. All who fell into their 
hands were murdered, and their scalps suspended from poles. The 
efforts to stop these outrages having hitherto been productive of Httle 
good, General Jackson determined to invade Florida and demand of 
the Spanish authorities satisfaction for their countenancing the In 
dians. Accordingly, collecting a number of volunteers and others 
who had served under him at New Orleans, he advanced into the 
Indian country^ defeated the savages in several skirmishes, and then 
marched with twenty-eight hundred men for the Spanish fort of St, 
Marks. Here, contrary to his expectations, and to the reports which 
had led to the movement, he found no Indians present. He took 
possession, however, and shipped the garrison and authorities to Pen- 
sacola. One of the American vessels lying off the coast decoved or 

66 2x2 



522 



ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MONKOU. 



board the two chiefs Hillishago and Hornet Henrico, both of whon 
were subsequently hung. 

ACKSON was now reinforced by fifteen 
hundred friendly Creeks, and with hia 
whole force he marched against the towns 
belonofinof to the chief called Bowleg's. 
After chasing six mounted Indians, he en- 
tered the villages, killed eleven negroes 
and Indians, and took two prisoners. Here 
a person named Ambrister was taken pri- 
soner ; and, being accused of unlawfully 
aiding the savages, was tried by court-martial, together with one 
Arbuthnot, both of whom, being declared guilty, were hung. 

For this occupation of a neutral territory General Jackson was 
subsequently called to account; but the measure was defended by 
the Secretary of State, Mr. J. Q,. Adams ; and soon after all com- 
plaints on the part of the Spanish authorities were silenced by a 
treaty ceding Florida to the United States. 

Mr. Monroe, having been elected to a second term of office, signed, 
in 1824, a treaty with Russia relative to the north-western boundary, 
and another with Great Britain relative to the suppression of the 
African slave trade. The same year was signalized by the visit of 
Lafayette to our country. During his stay he visited most of the 
principal cities of the Union, and was everywhere received with the 
most enthusiastic marks of respect. Congress, being in session, voted 
him the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, and a township of land 
six miles square. At Boston he witnessed the ceremony of laying 
the corner-stone of the Bunker Hill Monument. On the 7th of Sep- 
tember he sailed for France in the new frigate Brandywine, expressly 
fitted out for conveying him home. 

At the presidential election of this year, J. Q,. Adams was chosen 
by the House of Representatives, there being no choice by the pjpu- 
lar vote. 




JOHN QtJINCT ADAMS 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 




HL peaceful administration of Mr. Adams, re- 
nowned for the enlarged views of its chief offi- 
cer, his liberal political tenets, and his respect 
for learning and religion, affords but little oppor- 
tunity for the parade of historic description. 

Soon after his inauguration he concluded a 
treaty with the Creeks, who ceded all their 
lands lying in the state of Georgia, for an equal extent of territory 
west of the Mississippi. The Kansas tribe ceded all their lands 
lying in and around Missouri, for the payment of an annual sum of 
thirty-five hundred dollars for twenty years. A similar agreement 
was made with the Great and Little Osages, who were to receive for 
their territories in Arkansas an annuity of seven thousand dollars for 
twenty years. 

In 1825, a general convention of peace, amity, navigation, and com- 
merce, was concluded with the Republic of Columbia ; and, in the 
following year, similar ones with Denmark and Central America. 

On the 4th of July, 1826, a singular coincidence took place in the 
death of the two ex-Presidents, Adams and Jefferson — the one at 
Gluincy, in the ninety-first year of his age ; the other at Monticello, 
in his eighty-third year. Each of these remarkable men had lived 



524 



ADMllSISTRATION OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



tc see their exertions for human rights crowned with the happiest 
61 jcess ; and, after having been elevated to the highest office in the 
gift of the people, both expired on the same day, just half a century 
after signing the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia. 

In 1828, a new tariff law was pas&ed by Congress, which met 
with much opposition in the south. This tariff was very unpopular 
in the southern states, where the policy was considered unconstitu 
tional and oppressive ; but it continued in force for years, notwitn 
standing the complaints of its opponents. 

As the season for a new election of president approached, a strong 
party was formed in favour of General Jackson, who had been one 
of the candidates opposed to Mr. Adams at the previous election 
Great efforts were used by each party, and the contest was most 
animated. The result was the defeat of Mr. Adams, and the election 
of General Jackson as President, and Mr. Calhoun as Vice-President, 
by a v-^te in the electoral colleges of one hundred and seventy-eighl 
JO eighty-three. 



ANDRBW JACKSON. 



CHAPTER XLY. 

ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

ENERAL JACKSON'S 
administration was one of 
the most important in the 
history of the country ; and 
its strong features resulted 
from the decided character of the 
man. His immense personal popu- 
larity and his unflinching deter- 
mination enabled him to carry every 
important measure v;hich he pro- 
posed. He was always in advancn 
of his party in his opinions on public pohcy ; and in the cabinet, as 
in the field, he led where others hardly dared to follow. 

On his first accession to office he boldly dismissed a larger number 
of the public functionaries than usual on a change of administration, 
and filled the vaoancies thus created with his political friends. 

Regarding the management of internal improvements by the gene- 
ral government as of dangerous tendency, the President on the 27th 
of May, 1830, refused to sign the bill authorizing a subscription to 
the stock of the Maysville and Lexington Road Company in Ken 
♦ucky ; and thus pronounced the subsequent policy of the govern 
meat on this important question. 




526 



ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JACKSON. 




In 1832, he adopted the same course with reference to the re 
chartering of the United States Bank, and thus prevented its beinj; 
rechartered as a national institution, with features which are now 
considered exceptionable by all parties in the country. 

In the spring of 1832, the Sacs, Foxes, and Winnebagoes in 
Wisconsin Territory commenced a war under the direction of Black 
Hawk, which was speedily terminated by the vigorous action of the 
government, and the chief was captured and taken to Washington. 

During the same eventful year, the State of South Carolina, in 
convention, assumed a position of direct antagonism to the general 
government on the tariff question, and threatened a withdrawal from 
the Union. The President boldly met the issue ; and his proclama- 
tion announcing his determination to enforce obedience to the laws 
received the cordial approval and support of Mr. Webster and the 
other great leaders of the opposition. To advocate the position 
which South Carolina maintained with ability, her most distin 
^uished statesman, Mr. Calhoun, resigned his office of Vice-Presi 



NULLIFICAriON IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 



527 




. .ejit, and was elected to a seat in the Senate. The period was one 
of intense excitement, and men were hourly expecting to see the 
tirsl bloodshed of a civil war. Fortunately for the country, Mr. 
Clay, the great statesman of Kentucky, introduced his celebrated 
compromise bill, providing for the gradual reduction of duties till the 
year 1843, when they were to reach to the level of twenty per cent. 
This measure ei«abled the opponents of the tariff to retire with dig 
nity from the menacing position which they had assumed, and the 
vexed question was laid at rest for a season. On the 4th of March, 
1833, General Jackson entered upon the second term of his Presi:- 
dency; Martin Van Buren being Vice-President. 

In 1833, the commercial and monetary affairs of the country were 
considerably disturbed in consequence of the misunderstanding be- 
tween the President and the managers of the United States Bank 
Each party charged the other with disregarding the interests of the 
people in the straggle for victory. The President was very strongly 
solicited to restore the government deposits which he had caused to 
be removed from the bank ; but having become convinced that the 
continued existence of the bank itself, constituted and managed as 
i was, would be injurious to the country, he remained firm in his 
purpose to separate it from all connection with the government 
The bank obtained a new charter from the State of Pennsylvania, 
and subsequently failed. In his determination to oppose the bank, 



628 



ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JACKSON. 



the President was strongly supported in both houses of Congress , 
Mr. Benton, in the Senate, being particularly active in the cause. 

In 1834, the President informed Congress that the French Cham- 
ber of Deputies had rejected tiie bill for indemnifying the United 
States for losses sustained under the action of the Berlin and Milan 
decrees. His message on the subject suggested retaliatory meas- 
ures, breathing throughout a determination to insist upon indemnifi- 
cation. The French resented this language, and withdrew theii 
minister ; but subsequently paid the indemnity. 

In the summer of this year some unhappy disturbances occurred 
with the Florida Indians, and a small force under General Clinch 
was ordered against them. Little was done by either party until 
the 28th of December, when Major Dade, with a detachment of 
seven officers and one hundred and two privates was surprised by 
a body of Indians and negroes, the whole number, except four, mur- 
dered, and the dead bodies subsequently stripped and mutilated. 
This was followed by like outrages on a smaller scale, which, during 
the whole of Jackson's second term, rendered the territory of Florida 
a field of bloodshed. 

At the presidential election in 1836, Martin Van Buren was 
chosen President, and Richard M. Johnson Vice-President 



lii-RTIN VAN BUR3N. 



CHAPTER XLVL 

ADMm!^in\TION OF MARTIN VAN BUREN 

HE spirit of speculation, which seems periodically 
to visit great commercial countries, had been 
abiDad in the United States during the latter part 
of General Jackson's administration. The conse- 
quent revulsion commenced on the very day when 
he left the chair of stale. The usual consequences followed. 
Thousands of merchants failed, and the banks throughout the 
country suspended specie payments. The new President 
thought that the emergency warranted an extraordinary ses- 
sion of Congress, which, accordingly, commenced in September. 
1837; and, during a session of forty days, passed several bills for 
the relief of the government, which had itself become embarrassed. 
The issue of treasury notes was authorized, and an unsuccessful 
attempt was made to establish what is called an independent trea- 
sury, transacting its affairs in specie, and having no connection with 
banks. 

The war in Florida was continued during the whole of this 
administration, but finally was ended, by the subjugation of the 
Seminole tribes, and their subsequent removal west of the Missis 
sippi. In 1837, the border conflicts, originating from the sym 
pathy of many of our citizens with the Canadian patriots, increased 

67 2 T 92» 




530 



ADMINISTRATION OF MARTIN VAN BUREN. 



to such an extent as eventually threatened a direct collision with 
England. This general feeling was aggravated by an attack of the 
British upon the American steamer Caroline, which they set on 
and sent over the Falls. This led to an angry correspondence 
tween the English minister and the Secretary of State, but eventu- 
ally the matter was dropped. Subsequently there arose vexatious 
disputes concerning the Maine boundary, during which, citizens on 
each side of the line arrayed themselves in military costume, and 
occasionally came into open collision. The President issued a pro- 
clamation, forbidding all citizens of the United States to take part in 
these disturbances, and appointing General Winfield Scott as super- 
intendent of the northern border until the question of boundary could 
be settled. The prevention of war between the two countries was 
in a great measure owing to the efforts of that officer. 

CONVENTION for determining the bound- 
aries with Texas was concluded at Wash- 
ington, April 25, 1837. Treaties were 
also concluded with Peru, the Bolivian 
Confederacy, and the King of Greece. 
These were followed by fresh difficulties 
with Great Britain, and Congress authorized 
the President to raiee a provisional army, 
appropriated money for fortifications and 
for the repair of the national vessels, and the building of new ones. 
At the same time,v special commissioners were appointed by both 
parties to settle the dispute by negotiation. 

The greater portion of Van Buren's administration was occupied 
by his efforts to establish an independent treasury, into which the public 
moneys were to be deposited, after removal from the state banks. 
The collections were to be made in gold and silver. The measure 
was finally passed on the eve of the President's retirement from 
office. 

The commercial revulsion in the country having produced a 
change of politics, the party opposed to the administration suc- 
ceeded in electing their presidential candidate, General W. H. Har- 
rison, [November, 1840,] by a large majority. John Tyler was 
chosen Vice-President. 




•WILLIAM H. HARBISON. 



CIIAPTEPx XLYIL 

ADMINISTKATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 

ENERAL HARRISON 
was inaugurated as Presi 
dent on the 4th of March, 
1841. His services in the 
war of 1812 had given him 
md his subsequent discharge 
s of several important di])lo- 
is had inspired confidence 
ties as a statesman. His in- 
Iress was an able paper, and 
le approval of his political 
friends. The cabinet appointments were judicious. That of Mr. 
Webster, as Secretary of State, ultimately proved very fortunate. 
But ere the President could give any further indication of his course 
of action — in one short month after his inauguration [April 4th, 
1841] he died, after a short illness, in the sixty-fifth year of his 
age. Mr. Tyler, the Vice-President, was his constitutional suc- 
cGvSsoi", and immediately entered upon the duties of his station. 

(General Harrison had called an extra session of Congress, which 
met on the 27th of May. The Independent Treasury Act was r«- 

631 




532 ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 




JOHN TYLBR. 



pealed ; and two several bills for establishing a new United States 
Bank, after passing both houses of Congress, were defeated by the 
veto of the President. This caused a total rupture between Mr. 
Tyler and the party by whom he had been elected ; and the mem- 
bers of the cabinet, with the exception of Mr. Webster, immediately 
retired from oflice. 

About this time, Alexander McLeod, accused of being concerned 
in the attack upon the ill-fated Caroline, was arrested in New York, 
and the demand of the British minister for his release was refused 
Great Britain assumed a belligerent attitude, but his trial took place 
at Utica in October. Fortunately for the cause of peace, he was ac- 
quitted, and thus one incentive to war between the two countries wa? 
removed. But as several questions of an irritating nature were still 
pending between the two governments. Lord Ashburton was sent by 
the British Prime Minister, as a special ambassador, with full powers 
to effect an amicable adjustment. lie was met, on the part of the 
United States, by Mr. Webster, Secretary of State, and the negotia- 
tions lasted from April to August, on the 9th of which month the 
two ministers concluded a treaty, settling the line of the north-eastern 
boundary by a minute geographical description of the country through 
which it was to run, and also providing for the suppression of the 
slave trade. This treaty was approved by the two governments, and 
immediately after, Mr. Webster resigned his seat in the presidential 
cabinet. On the 31st of August, Congress adjourned, after a mos* 
aborious session, of which the most important act was a genera. 



ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 



533 



Dankrupt ]aw, which, however, was repealed, after being a few 
months in operation. 

The last act of Mr. Tyler's administration was th** passage of a 
joint resolution by both houses of Congress, for the annexation of 
Texas to the United States. This was signed by the President on 
the 3d of March, 1845, and on the following day, James K. Polk, 
of Tennessee, took his seat as chief magistrate of the Union, having 
been elected by the democratic party in November. Before giving 
an account of the succeeding administration, we will notice the rise 
and progress of the republic of Texas, which, at the period which 
we have now -eached became one of the states of th^ TTaion. 




34 



Q3NBBAL HOUSTON. 



CHAPTER XLYIII. 

HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

HE State and territory 
now forming part of the 
American Union, under 
the name of Texas, was 
until a comparatively re- 
cent period, a portion of 
Mexico ; and, as such, 
formed one of the ori- 
ginal Spanish American 
colonies. No attempt 
was made to settle it by 
any European power foi 
more than a century after the conquest of Cortes. In 1685, the 
French adventurer La Salle having been carried to the coast, built 
there a fort, and took possession of the country for France ; he was 
subsequently killed, and his colony broken up ; but ever after France 
534 




EMIGRATION INTO THE TERRITORY. 



535 



included what is now called Texas within the boundaries of Louisi- 
ana. In the years 1690-2, some Spanish missions were established 
along the coast, including, among others, the present town of San 
Antonio de Bexar. In 1763, Louisiana, including Texas, was 
ceded to Spain; but in 1800 it again reverted to France, and 
thus a fruitful source of dispute was afforded by the question of 
boundary. 

Texas took an active part in the revolution which freed Mexico 
from Spain; but the narrative of her sufferings and triumphs at this 
time belongs rather to the history of the former country than to her 
own. It was this movement that, by drawing adventurers from the 
United States, first opened to our country a knowledge of the advan- 
tages and resources of Texas ; and principally through the efforts of 
our people were the Texans and Mexicans enabled to achieve the 
victories of Goliad, Bexar, Medina, and others. 

The treaty of 1819, by which Spain ceded Florida to the United 
States, fixed the Sabine river as the boundary between Louisiana and 
Texas. When Mexico achieved her independence, emigrants from 
the United States flocked into the latter territory, so that in a little 
while the population assumed all the distinguishing characteristics 
of our western states. One of the most influential of these settlers 
was Mr. Samuel Austin, after whom the present capital is named. 
Much of the early prosperity of the colony may be attributed to his 
influence. In 1824 Texas was united to Coahuila, both forming one 
jstate of the Mexican confederacy. From this time the population 
mcreased so rapidly as to alarm the Mexican authorities, and pro- 
cure the passage of several laws restricting the privileges of foreign 
emigrants, and rendering the local government more and more 
severe. So arbitrary was the conduct of the authorities, that in 
1832 a revolt took place, which resulted in driving Colonel 
Bradburn, commandant of the military post of Anahuac, from the 
coun' ry. 

In August, 1833, Austin visited the city of Mexico for the pur 
pose of presenting to the supreme government a petition on the part 
of Texas for a separation from Coahuila, and the formation of an inde- 
pendent state government. This gave great offence to the authori- 
ties ; and when Austin, wearied by delays, wrote to the Texans to 
assume the responsibility of organizing the required government, he 
was arrested and thrown into prison. News of this proceeding pro- 
duced the greatest ferment in Texas, and soon gave rise to a party 



536 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



who declared their determination to separate, if possible, from the 
mother country. A political condition bordering on anarchy con- 
tinued, until intelligence of the adoption of the " Plan of Toluco," 
abolishing the state governments, and substituting a central for a 
federal republic, was received. About the same time Austin re- 
turned from his long imprisonment. The people of Texas now 
refused their assent to the change in government, denouncing 
Santa Anna, the central president, as a tyrant and usurper, 
and declaring their determination of adhering to the constitution 
of 1824. In September, 1835, their central committee of safety, 
of which Austin was chairman, recommended the organization 
of mihtia and volunteer companies, and an immediate appeal 
to arms. ^ 
EANWHILE Mexico had not been blind to these 
movements in the disaffected province. With cha- 
racteristic promptitude Santa Anna had been order- 
ing forces and supplies to the frontier, and in Sep- 
tember General Cos arrived with a considerable army 
at San Antonio de Bexar. From this place he sent 
two hundred men to Gonzales, for the purpose of seizing a piece of 
cannon, which the inhabitants had refused to surrender. This force 
was attacked, October 2, by one hundred and sixty-eight Texans, 
totally defeated, and driven towards Bexar. This success was 
followed on the 8th by the capture of Goliad, with ten thou- 
sand dollars' worth of stores, two brass cannon, and three hun- 
dred small arms. The assailants numbered fifty, under Captain 
Collinsworth. 

On the 20th of October, three hundred Texans, under Austin, took 
position within five miles of Bexar, in order to await reinforcements 
preparat ry to an attack. On the 27th, ninety-two of their number, 
under Colonel Bowie and Captain Fannin, were attacked by a supe- 
rior Mexican force, which they repulsed with loss. The siege of 
Bexar continued with but little progress until the 5th of December, 
when a separate volunteer force of three hundred men, under the 
veteran Milam, assaulted the works in two columns, took possession 
of two houses, and then worked their way from room to room in the 
interior, at the same time shooting the Mexicans from their guns 
through the windows. In this manner the battle was continued for 
3ix days, when General Cos agreed to capitulate. A large quantity 
of cannon, stores, and provisions, was given up, while Cos and his 




SIEGE OF THE ALAMO. 



537 




men were dismissed on parol. Thus ended the first Mexican mva- 
sion of Texas. 

4-=° EANWHILE Austin had been sent to the United 
States as commissioner, and Samuel Houston suc- 
ceeded him as commander-in-chief of the revolu- 
tionary forces. But a still harder struggle than 
that just terminated awaited the Texans. On the 
first of February, 1836, Santa Anna marched from 
Saltillo towards the Rio Grande with eight thousand men, 
and a large train of artillery, provisions, and stores. On 
the 23d he appeared with the greater part of his forces 
before San Antonio de Bexar. The garrison, of one hun- 
dred and fifty men, under William B. Trevis, retired to the Alamo, 
and calle.d upon the provisional government and neighbouring region 
for reinforcements. Here they were besieged by four thousand men 
and during two weeks sustained themselves against all the efforts of 
the enemy, as well as the ravages of weariness and famine, with a 
fortitude which has few parallels in modern history. The works 
were finally taken by assault, [March 6,] and the whole garrison, 
except a woman and a negro, put to the sword. The dead bodies, 
after having been subjected to the grossest indecencies, were thrown 
into a heap, and burned. The loss of the enemy has been estimated 
at from one thousand to fifteen hundred men. 

On the 2d of March, a convention of delegates from all parts of Texas 
published a declaration of independence and total separation from the 
Mexican republic. A national constitution was formed on the 17th ; 
and David G. Burnett, of New Jersey, chosen provisional President. 

During the siege of the Alamo, General Urrea, with one division 
of the Mexican army, was marching along the coast, where he cap- 
tured two parties of Texans, under Colonel Johnson and Captain 
King. Johnson and a few others escaped ; but all the others were 
put to death. A third party, under Colonel Ward, was soon after- 
wards obliged to surrender. The garrison of Goliad, under Colonel 
Fannin, after evacuating that place, were pursued and surrounded by 
Urrea's forces, and finally obliged to capitulate, on promise of being 
treated as prisoners of war. But, on being returned to Goliad, they, 
With Ward's detachment, amounting in all to about four hundred 
mnn, were shot. 

The news of this outrage created ihroughout the United States 
feohngs of the strongest sympathy and indignation. Volunteers 



538 



HISTO'f.Y OF TEXAS. 



rushed to the assistance of the suffering patriots in such numbers 
that OeneraJ Houston soon found himself in a situation to assume 
the offensive. On the 2,1st of April, with about eight hundred 
men, he came up with Santa Anna's force of sixteen hundred men 
at the San Jacinto river. Late in the afternoon a battle was com- 
menced by a furious charge of cavalry to the battle-cry of "Re 
member the Alamo." So resistless was the onset, that in fifteen 
minutes the enemy's camp was carried, and his soldiers flying 
in all directions. The rout was total — six hundred and thirty 
of the Mexicans being killed, two hundred and eight wounded, 
and seven hundred and thirty made prisoners. The Texans lost 
but eight killed, and seventeen wounded. General Santa Anna 
was among the prisoners. He immediately concluded an armistice 
with General Houston, by the terms of which the Mexican forces then 
in Texas were immediately ordered to depart. This was effected 
under the direction of General Filisola. Soon after, Santa Anna 
signed a secret treaty with President Burnett, recognising the inde- 
pendence of Texas, and establishing the Rio Grande as a boundary. 

ARLY in September, the new government went 
into operation, by the election of General Houston 
as the first constitutional President, and Mirabeau 
B. Lamar as Vice-President. At the same time 
the people expressed their desire to be admitted, 
as a state, into the American Union; and a minis- 
ter was appointed to negotiate at Washington fG> 
that purpose. On the 3d of March, 1837, the independence of Texas 
was acknowledged by the United States; but the proposal for annexa- 
tion received no action. Meanwhile the Mexican Congress had dis- 
avowed the treaty signed by Santa Anna, and that chief himself dis- 
claimed it when once more restored to liberty. Thus the war still 
continuing, excursions into the territory on the borders were fre 
quently made by both nations, and a system of harassing warfare was 
carried on, alike unsatisfactory and ferocious. In the notable expe- 
ditions against Mier and Santa Fe the Texan parlies were taken 
prisoners, marched into Mexico, and subjected to treatment at which 
humanity recoils. Nothing decisive was, however, effected ; although, 
among foreign nations, Texas was generally acknowledged and dealt 
with as a sovereign nation. 

Notwithstanding the failure of their first proposal for annexation 
xo the Ur^jted States, the people of Texas continued to cherish th« 




ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 



539 



project, and from time to time attempted to bring about its exe- 
cution. At length, under tlie presidency of General Houston, 
in 1845, a joint resolution to that effect passed the United States 
Congress, [February 28,] and was signed by President Tyler on 
the 3d of March. It was accepted by the constitutional conven- 
lion of Texas on the 4th of July of the same year; so that from 
that date the history of Texas is merged in that of the great Ame- 
rican republic. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES K. POLK. — OPENING OP THE MEX- 
ICAN WAR. 

RESIDENT POLK had been elected by the 
political party favourable to the annexation of 
Texas ; and his first act was to lay before the 
government and citizens of the newly acquired 
territory the first and second sections of the 
joint resolution for their approval and acceptance. 
This being complied with, the American Con- 
gress, on the 29th of December, 1845, admitted 
Texas into the confederacy as a sovereign state. During the same 
session, the tariff law of 1842 was repealed, and another substituted, 
which considerably reduced the duties on many articles. The 
measure met with the determined opposition of the minority, and 
was carried in the Senate only through the casting vote of the Vice- 
President, Mr. Dallas. Its opponents claimed that it was insufR- 
cient both for revenue and protection. 

Another important measure of the early part of this adminis- 
tration, was the establishment of an mdependent treasury, such as 
had existed under the administration of Mr. Van Buren. A short 




ADMINISTRATION OF JAMl^S K. POLK. 



541 



time previous to this measure, the question concerning the northern 
boundary line of Oregon had been settled. The President had 
claimed the whole of this territory, up to 54° 40' ; the British 
asserted an equal right with the United States, and the two Govern 
ments finally agreed on the 49th parallel. 

Meanwhile, the relations between our country and Mexico were 
daily growing more critical, in consequence of the act which deprived 
the latter power of all hope of ever again regaining her authority in 
Texas. From the first intimations of the project of annexation, she 
had used all her influence to defeat it ; and when the action of the 
Joint resolution was consummated, she, through her minister, de- 
clared it to be "an act of aggression the most unjust which can be 
^ound recorded in the annals of modern history — namely, that of 
despoiling a friendly nation, like Mexico, of a considerable portion of 
her territory." Soon after, the minister was withdrawn. So strong 
was the popular feeling throughout that country, that President 
Herrera, who was disposed toward an amicable adjustment of the 
difficulty, was loudly denounced as a traitor, and a strong party, 
headed by General Paredes, raised against him. Anxious for peace, 
Herrera consented to receive a minister from the United States, 
clothed with full powers ; but before negotiations could be opened, 
his administration had ended, and the new President, Paredes, re- 
fused to listen to overtures of peace. 

Previous to this, President Polk, [March 21, 1845,] had issued 
orders to General Zachary Taylor, to prepare the troops at Fort 
Jessup, where he commanded, for marching into Texas as soon as 
required. Soon after, the general was instructed to take up a 
favourable position in that territory, which he did by occupying 
Corpus Christi, on the Gulf of Mexico. After remaining here until 
the following spring, he was ordered to take up a position on the 
Rio Grande — the American Government claiming that river as the 
boundary. On the 8th of March, he broke up his camp, and moved 
toward that river, taking possession, in his route, of Point Isabel, 
as a depot for his public stores. Before reaching it, he had been 
met by two small parties of Mexicans, one of which fled, after a 
show of resisting his passage of the Arroya Colorado, and the 
other, a civil deputation, after protesting in the name of the local 
government, against the occupation of their territory, retired to Mata- 
moras. General Taylor left a small force under Major Monroe, at 
Point Isabel, with directions to fortify the place in the best manner 



542 



♦ 

ADMrXISTRATIOX OF JAMES K. POLK. 




CORPUS CHSISTL 

possiDle. It had been set on fire by the Mexicans, but the flames 
were extinguished, and the authorities and straggling soldiers driven 
away by a detachment of dragoons under Colonel Twiggs. At 
eleven o'clock, a. m., of March 28, the American array reached the 
Rio Grande, and planted the national flag opposite Matamoras. On 
the same day. Colonel Worth was sent across the river with de- 
spatches for the authorities; but his interview with the prefect and 
other officers was productive of nothing decisive. 

The first care of the American general was the erection of the 
system of defences subsequently known as Fort Brown. At the 
same time, the Mexicans raised batteries and mounted cannon, for 
a considerable distance along the river. As yet, however, war had 
not been proclaimed by either government, nor had any thing uc 
curred to interrupt the friendly relations hitherto existing between 
the two nations. 

On the 10th of April, Colonel Cross, quarter-master general of the 
array of occupation, was murdered by a band of outlaws, while 
riding from camp, to take his customary daily exercise. His body 
was not recovered until the 21st. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Porter 
and three others, who, with a small party, had been sent out to 
reconnoitre, were waylaid and killed. 

On the 26th, General Taylor received information that the Mexi- 
cans were crossing the river, both above and below the fort. Ic 



SKIRMISHES WITH THE MEXICANS. 543 




POINT ISA BBL 



order to be satisfied of the correctness of this report, he despatched 
Captain Ker with a small party, to the landing below, and Captain 
Thornton to that above. The former soon returned without seeing 
an enemy. Thornton's party fell into an ambush, was completely 
surrounded, and soon after separated into two portions. The cap- 
tain's horse, being severely wounded, leaped the chaparral fence 
which enclosed him, and ran at full speed toward the American 
camp. Both, however, were captured, and taken into Matamoras. 
Meanwhile, the party now commanded by Captain Hardee, after fight- 
ing with great bravery, was overpowered by numbers, and induced to 
surrender, on a promise of good treatment. Soon after these acci- 
dents, the Mexicans crossed the Rio Grande in large numbers, and 
spread themselves between General Taylor's camp and that of Major 
Monroe, thus cutting off the communication between them. 

On ascertaining the danger of his main depot, General Taylor re- 
solved on marching immediately to its relief. With the greater part 
of his army, he left his camp on the 1st of May, and arrived at Point 
Isabel on the evening of the 2d, having met with no opposition from 
the Mexicans. A regiment of infantry, and two companies of artil 
lery, were left at the river fort, under the command of Major Jacob 
Brown. 

Intelligence of the hostile operations of the Mexicans having been 
transmitted to the seat of government, the facts were formally an- 
nounced to Congress by a message of the President, on the 1 Ith of 
May, 1846. On the 13th, Congress passed an act declaring the exist- 
ence of war between the two republics, empowering the President 
to accept the services of fifty thousand volunteers, and appropriating 
ten millions of dollars to defray expenses. Thus authorized, the ex- 
ecutive issued a proclamation, invoking the aid of the nation in car 
tying on the war. 



OXNBBAI. TATLOB. 



CHAPTER L. 

OPEKATIONS OF GENERAL TAYLOR. 

HE departure of General Taylor from 
the fort opposite Matamoras was the 
signal for the opening of the war. 
Early on the morning ot May 3, 
the Mexican batteries in Matamoras 
commenced a heavy fire upon the 
river fort, which continued the greater 
part of the day, and was answered at 
mtervals by the garrison. One sergeant was killed, and considera 

MA 




BATTLE OE PALO ALTO. 



545 



injury done to tents and other articles withm the fori. The attaclr 
was renewed on the 5th. the assailants having erected a field battcrj 
during the night, and drawn up a large reserve force in rear of the 
American works, for the purpose of storming them. The bombard- 
ment continued during the greater part of the morning, and was re- 
newed with much spirit on the 6th. On the forenoon of this day- 
Major Brown was mortally wounded, by the bursting of a shell 
from the enemy's batteries, and the command devolved on Captain 
Hawkins. In the afternoon, that officer was summoned to surren- 
der, and on his refusing, the assault was renewed, and continued 
during that and the following day. It was kept up at intervals on 
the 8th, until the sound of cannon, from the direction of Point Isabel, 
arrested the attention of both parties. 

General Taylor, as has already been stated, arrived at Point Isabel 
mth the greater part of his army, on the 2d. After placing the for- 
ufications in the best state of defence, and taking all other precau- 
tions necessary to the security of the post, he again marched for the 
river fort. May 7. After advancing about seven miles, the army 
bivouacked on the open plain, and resumed its march on the follow 
ing morning. At noon, the advance reached the watering-place of 
Palo Alto, near which the Mexican army was drawn up across the 
road, in order of battle. Here General Taylor halted, in order to 
afford his troops an opportunity to refresh themselves with cold 
water, preparatory to forming the line. The Mexican army was 
plainly visible across the prairie — their left, composed, of a heavy 
cavalry force, occupying the road, resting upon the thicket of chap- 
arral, while masses of infantry, greatly outnumbering the American 
forces, were on the right. 

At two o'clock the Americans moved forward by heads of columns, 
their eighteen-pound battery following the road. At the same time 
Lieutenant Blake and another officer made a close and daring recon- 
noissance of the enemy's line, which resulted in the discovery of 
several batteries of artillery in the intervals of their infantry and 
cavalry. These guns soon opened upon the American line, and were 
answered by all General Taylor's artillery. As the Mexican fire did 
little execution, their cavalry endeavoured to pass round some neigh- 
bouring chaparral, in order to outflank the American right ; but this 
movement was deft Uted by the active exertions of Captain Walker's 
volunteers, aided by some artillery under Captain Ridgely. So vio- 
lent was the cannonading on both sides, that the grass of the prairie 

69 3 z2 



546 



OPERATIONS OF GENERAL TAYLOR. 




BATTLE 07 PALO ALTO. 



was tired, the smoke from which hid the armies from each other, 
and caused a suspension of hostilities for nearly an hour. This 
mterval gave opportunity to each general to form a new line of 
battle, so that when the atmosphere became clear the action was 
resumed with increased vigour. The slaughter among the dense 
masses of cavalry was very great ; while, on the other hand, Major 
Ringgold, chief artillerist of the Americans, was mortally wounded, 
and several of the infantry killed. The firing continued with but 
little intermission until dark, when the Mexicans withdrew into the 
neighbouring chaparral. The whole engagement had been one of 
artillery ; for, although the enemy's cavalry made several attempts 
upon the American flank, they w^ere in no instance near enough to 
risk a charge ; and the discharge of small arms towards the close of 
the action was of but short continuance and of little effect. The 
loss of the Americans was nine killed, and forty-six wounded and 
missing. Their total force w^as nearly twenty-nine hundred ; thai 
of the Mexicans about six thousand. Both armies encamped for the 
iiight on or around the battle-field. 

On the morning of the 9th, the Mexicans were discovered moving 
by their left flank so as to gain a new position on the road to Mata- 
tnoras, and there again resist the advances of the Americans Gene- 



BATTLE OF RESACA DE LA PALMA. 



547 




CAPTAIN MAT. 



'al Taylor immediately prepared for battle, by ordering his supply 
.rain packed, and leaving with it four pieces of artillery, and sending 
his wounded to Po nt Isabel. Then halting his columns at the edge 
of the chaparral which extends several miles towards the Rio Grande, 
he threw forward some light troops and infantry, under Captain 
McCall, to reconnoitre the thickets, and report in case of meeting an 
enemy. The captain soon came upon small bodies of infantry posted 
in the chaparral, who immediately opened upon him with musketry 
and, in endeavouring to advance, he found himself in front of a large 
portion of the Mexican army. This being reported to General Tay 
lor, he ordered forward successive portions of his army, who, im.me 
diately closing with the Mexican forces, soon brought on a general 
sngagement. The enemy being securely posted in almost impene- 
trable thicket, and having their batteries planted in a ravine which 
trossed fi,yvl commanded the road, fought with an obstinacy rare 



548 



OPERATIONS OF GENERAL TAYLOR. 




M ATA MORAS 



among Mexican troops, and yielded their ground only when dnven 
inch by inch with the bayonet. Their artillery continued to pour an 
incessant shower of grape and canister shot into the American ranks. 
As the result of the battle depended upon the possession of these 
guns, Captain May was ordered to charge the batteries with his 
squadron of dragoons, which he did in gallant style, sweeping the 
artillerists from their posts, and driving back this supporting infantry. 
Several of the cavalry were killed, while La Vega, a Mexican gene- 
ral, was taken prisoner. Soon after the eighth infantry arrived to 
May's assistance, and succeeded in securing the guns and driving 
the Mexicans from the left of the road. The enemy were finally 
repulsed at every point; and, leaving their camp and baggage, they 
fled precipitately towards the river. Being hotly pursued, numbers 
were killed in the flight, and many more drowned in attempting to 
cross the Rio Grande. The approach of General Taylor's army was 
hailed by the garrison at Httle Fort Brown with the most enthusiastic 
applause, and the two eighteen-pounders within the fort were opened 
upon the flying enemy. After providing for his wounded. General 
Taylor bivouacked near the river bank, within view of Matamoraa 
and the garrison under Captain Hawkins. 



SIEGE OF MONTEREY. 



549 



The marching force of the Americans on this day was rather mpra 
than twenty-two hundred, but the number actually engaged in the 
battle appears to have been no greater than seventeen hundred. 
The Mexican force probably numbered six thousand men, as they 
had been reinforced during the night by bodies of infantry and 
cavalry. General Taylor's loss was thirty- nine killed, including 
three officers, and eighty-three wounded. The loss of the Mexicans 
in both battles is estimated by General Taylor at one thousand men. 

Had Tcneral Taylor possessed the means necessary for crossing 
the rivt he could easily have completed his victory by the capture 
of Mata Aoras. This, however, he was unable to do until the 18th 
Meanwhile an exchange of prisoners restored Captain Thornton and 
his men to the Americans; while, about the same time, Majors 
Brown and Ringgold died of their wounds. Barita, a small but im- 
portant post below Matamoras, was taken possession of on the 15th 
by Lieutenant-Colonel Wilson and a considerable body of infantry. 
Three days after, the general crossed with his whole army, and 
demanded an unconditional surrender of the city. After some delay 
this demand was complied with. The American flag was substituted 
for the Mexican, and a new civil governmert formed, at the head of 
which was Colonel Twiggs. Arista, with the whole Mexican army, 
had evacuated the city on the evening previous, and was then 
marching with all speed to Reynosa, where he expected to be joined 
by President Paredes. 

Although General Taylor was thus placed in possession of all the 
region watered by the southern portion of the Rio Grande, yet he 
was still in no condition to advance into the interior of Mexico ; noi 
was it until the latter part of August that his earnest and repeated 
demand for supplies had been answered so far as to enable him to 
commence his march for the city of Monterey. Meanwhile he had 
detached small parties against the towns of Mier, Camargo, and 
Reynosa, all of which were occupied without resistance. Towards 
the end of August General Worth, with his division, was ordered to 
Seralvo, from which place, on the 5th of September, he informed 
General Taylor that Monterey had been reinforced by a large body 
of Mexicar s under General Ampudia. 

As the ] eduction of this city was considered essential to the suc- 
cess of any ultimate expedition against the capital in this direction, 
he Ameri* an commander determined to attack it without further loss 
')! * me. Accordingly^ with about seven thousand men, he marcheo 
35 



550 



OPERATIONS OF GENERAL TAYLOR. 




GSUSKAL TATI.03 ADVA.I>CI53 TO UOKrSBBT. 



for Seralvo on the 7th, leaving General Patterson in command of ali 
the forces stationed at various posts between Camargo and Mata- 
moras. After collecting supplies at Seralvo, he hurried on without 
waiting for reinforcements, and on the morning of the 19th reached 
the Walnut Springs, three miles from Monterey. Here a careful 
reconnoissance showed that in addition to the proper works of the 
city, which were very strong, the enemy had erected a number of 
small forts on the hills adjacent, as well as fortified the strong build- 
ing on Independence Hill, known as the Bishop's Palace. As these 
works commanded the western approach to the city, General Taylor 
determined to detach against them one division of his army under 
General Worth, while, with the main force, he conducted in person 
the assault upon the city. 

On the 20th General Worth with his division moved by a circui- 
tous route to the Saltiilo road, leading to Independence Hill. Early 
on the morning of the 21st, his cavaJr}- force, under Colonel Hays, 
encountered a large body of the enemy, both on foot and horseback. 
These were defeated with loss, and soon after Worth gained a posi 



SIEGE OF MONTEREY. 



551 




CATALRT ACTION OF TH2 21ST saPTBMBBB. 



tion on the road favourable for an attack. The first fort on Federa- 
cion Hill was gallantly stormed by a small party under Captain 
Smith, assisted by Captain Miles and a body of Texas rangers under 
Colonel Hays. Immediately after, Fort Soldada was carried by -i, 
portion of the same force, assisted by a regiment under Colonel Per- 
sifer F. Smith. The guns of both these places were turned against 
the Bishop's Palace, and every preparation made for attacking that 
strong fortress on the following day. 

Meanwhile, to favour Worth's enterprise, the American com- 
mander ordered the first regiment of regulars, under General Twiggs, 
and the volunteers under General Butler, to make a diversion against 
the centre and left of the town. The enemy's defences in this 
(uarter had been constructed with so much labour that every house 
appeared to be a fortification, and each street was raked throughout 
its greatest extent, with fires from heavily mounted batteries. In 
endeavouring to approach Fort Teneria, General Butler's troops 
became entangled in this labyrinth of difficulties, and suffered most 
severely. After much loss, the fort was finally carried with the bay- 
onet. At the game time, the Baltimore battalion, under their leader 
Colonel Watsofj, approached the city from the west, but unfortunately 

69 



552 



OPERATIONS OF GENERAL TAYLOR. 



got into a narrow lane or street, where they were exposrd both to 
direct and cross-fires, of some of the enemy's most active batteries. 
The greater part of the battalion were either killed or wounded, and 
the remainder saved from a similar fate only by throwing themselves 
at full length into a narrow ditch. 

The 22d passed without any active operations in the lower part of 
the city. The greater part of the morning was occupied in burying 
the dead. The citadel, and other works, continued to fire at parties 
exposed to their range, and at the garrison in Fort Teneria. Captain 
Bragg's battery was placed under cover in front of the town, to repel 
any demonstration of the enemy's cavalry in that quarter. But the 
day was far otherwise employed by General Worth. Before day- 
hght, a strong party under Colonel Childs, assisted by Captains Vin- 
ton and Scott, and Lieutenant Ayres, commenced the ascent of the 
hill surmounted by the Bishop's Palace. After incredible toil, they 
reached a position suitable for opening upon the works ; but so strong 
were the walls, that little or no impression could be made. In a 
short time, a body of lancers appeared on the crest of the hill ; but 
being charged, they broke and fled in confusion toward the palace, 
the gates of which opening to receive them, were entered simulta- 
neously by friend and foe. Once within, the Americans soon cleared 
the walls of the garrison, while Lieutenant Ayres mounted the hal- 
yards and pulled down the Mexican flag. Two pieces of artillery 
were captured, with a large quantity of ammunition, and some small 
arms. Seven of the assailants were killed and twelve wounded. 

On the following morning, a combined attack was made upon the 
town by the forces of General Taylor on the east, and General Worth 
on the west. Directing their movements to the Grand Plaza, the 
central focus of the city, the troops moved slowly along the least 
dangerous approaches. By daylight, it was ascertained that the 
enemy had abandoned all their lower defences, and thrown their 
main army into the cathedral, and the works near the centre. These 
were immediately occupied by the Americans, who opened from 
them a heavy fire of both artillery and musketry. The remaining 
troops advanced from street to street, until within one square of the 
principal plaza. This advance, though vigorous, was conducted 
with due caution, thus being attended with but little loss to the 
assailants, while their opponents suflered severely. Toward eve- 
ning, the commander, after battering down a portion of the cathedral, 
baited his troops, and sent orders to General Worth to renew tha 



SIEGE OF MONTEREY. 



6o3 




bishop's PAiACa, MOJSTSftBY. 



attack, in combination with his own force, on tne following morning. 
Although such great success had attended the operations of the 
Americans, the labour of storming the city was as yet but half ac- 
comphshed. The citadel, main cathedral, and other large works, 
were still garrisoned by the enemy ; and had they still continued 
the defence, it is more than probable that the loss of the Americans 
would have been more serious than on the three previous days. 
This, however, they failed to do. Early on the morning of the 24th, 
the American commander received, through General Worth, a com- 
munication from General Ampudia, the Mexican commandant, pro- 
posing to evacuate the town upon certain conditions. Commissioners 
were appointed by each general, and after a long and tedious nego- 
tiation, terms of capitulation were agreed upon, and signed by the 
two commanders. These were, in substance, that the city, with all 
its pubhc property, should be surrendered to the Americans ; that 
the Mexican army should march out with their muskets, six pieces 
of cannon, and twenty rounds of ammunition; and that during 
an armistice of eight weeks, neither army should pass a certain 
specified line. 

On occupying the city, it was found to be of great strength, and 

U 3 A 



554 



OPERATIONS OF GENERAL TAYLOR. 




BTOBMINQ OF MONTERBT. 



to have all its approaches strongly fortified. The works were 
mounted with forty-two pieces of cannon, well supplied with ammu- 
nition, and during the siege had been manned by from nine to ten 
thousand men. The assailants numbered rather more than six 
thousand six hundred ; while their artillery consisted of one ten-inch 
mortar, two twenty-four pound howitzers, and four light field bat- 
teries, of four guns each. Their loss was twelve officers, and one 
hundred and eight men killed ; thirty-one officers and three hundred 
and thirty-seven men wounded. The loss of the Mexicans was 
never known, but it was supposed considerably to exceed that of the 
Americans. 

Monterey now became the head-quarters of the American army. 
Dunng the autumn. General Taylor detached Brigadier-General 
Worth, with twelve hundred men and eight pieces of artillery, to 
Saltillo, while Brigadier-General Wool, with the column under his 
command, numbering twenty-four hundred strong, and having six 
pieces of artillery, was ordered to the town of Parras, seventy miles 
north-east of Worth's position. Saltillo lies about seventy miles 
from Monterey, at an elevation of two thousand feet above that city 
These two places were occupied without opposition, the enemy 
having previously fallen back to San Luis Potosi. 



SANTA ANNA AT POTOSI. 



555 




GBNERAL TAYLOR TAKING L B A V H OF THE TROOPS 



Meanwhile, President Paredes had been deposed, and General 
Santa Anna appointed Dictator of Mexico. After raising a large 
army, that officer established his head-quarters at Potosi, designing 
to raise a sufficiency of supplies to enable him to arrest the further 
progress of General Taylor. Early in 1847, most of that officer's 
regular troops were withdrawn by General Scott, which so reduced 
his numbers as to force him to abandon his designs upon the Mexi- 
can capital and to fall back toward Monterey. General Taylor took 
leave of the troops who left him, in a very feeling address. The 
arrival of volunteers under General Wool again enabled him to move 
forward, so that on the 21st of February, ascertaining that Santa 
Anna was moving rapidly upon him with twenty thousand men, he 
took up a strong position at the pass of Augostura, three miles from 
Buena Vista, and seven from Saltillo. On the following day, the-. 
Mexican forces were observed approaching over the neighbouring 
mountains ; and immediately after, General Taylor received a sum- 
mons to surrender, which he refused. Toward evening, a brisk 
cannonade was commenced upon the Americans, but with little or no 
effect A portion of the enemy's infantry then wound along the 



556 OPERATIONS OF GENERAL TAYLOR. 

gorge 1 and hil^ to the left of the general's position, and opened 
a heavy fire up'n that flank. It was returned by a portion of thi 
Kentucky mounted regiment, under Colonel Marshall, and the 
skirmish lasted until after dark. Three Americans were wounded. 

During the night, General Taylor retired to Saltillo, leaving with 
General Wool the care of providing for the commencement of the 
attack. On the following morning, the action was renewed in earnest. 
The American army did not number more than five thousand men; 
yet these coolly prepared to resist the overwhelming host, whose 
dark lines of infantry were drawn out as far as the eye could reach, 
while the cavalry appeared in dense columns, presenting the most 
gaudy appearance. Before sunrise, a large body of both foot and 
horse moved toward the point which had been the scene of conflict 
on the preceding night, evidently with the intention of turning the 
American left flank, and penetrating to the centre. To prevent 
this, General Taylor ordered Sherman's and Bragg's batteries to the 
threatened position, the second Illinois regiment, under Colonel Bis- 
sel, occupying a position between them. The second Kentucky 
regiment was placed near the centre. The extreme left was sup- 
ported by the second Indiana regiment, under Colonel Bowles, so 
placed as to check, by a direct fire, the enemy's flank movements. 
The battle was opened on both sides by the artillery, which was 
soon followed by the musketry of the Mexican right. Notwithstand- 
ing the great disparity in numbers, the Americans maintained their 
ground with firmness, each regiment vying with the others in the 
obs-tinacy of their resistance. 

Ai the same time, the Mexican cavalry were winding slowly along 
the mountain defiles, and notwithstanding the havoc caused by the 
American artillery, they succeeded in gaining a position close to the 
rear, and in view of the stores at Buena Vista. To prevent their 
further advance. General Taylor sent forward his artillery, extended 
his front, and opened a combined fire of rifles and cannon upon 
the approaching lancers. The action now raged with terrible effect, 
but although at the first shock the cavalry reeled and fell back, they 
twice rallied, and it was not until they had been divided into two 
bodies, that this vigorous attempt was abandoned. 

At this critical position of his affairs, Santa Anna sent a flag of truce 
to the American general, desiring to know " what he wanted." A 
temporary cessation of hostilities took place, during which the de- 
tached cavalry were enabled to regain the main bod)^ This again 



BATTLE or BUENA VISTA. 



557 




KSPULSE 0? THS MSSICAN CAVAL3T AT BUEMA VI3TA- 



gave the enemy a large numerical superiority, which enabled them 
almost completely to overwhelm the second Kentucky reg-iment, and 
drive the second Indiana from the field. Captain O'Brien, with two 
pieces of artillery, sustained this heavy charge to the last, but was 
finally compelled to le^ve his 2"uns on the field. Perceiving their 
advantage, the enemy rushed on in dense masses, captured the guns, 
and the Indianians retreating by order of Colonel Bowles, the Mexi- 
cans advanced upon the Kentucky resiment, under Colonels ^IcKee 
and Clay, and the ^^lississippi regiment, under Colonel Jefferson Da- 
vis, At this moment, by order of General Taylor, Captain Bragg threw 
himself into action, and opened his battery witiiin a few yards of the 
Mexican cavalry. By this daring movement, the enemy's progress was 
suddenly arrested, and his whole body of lancers driven back. Bu>, 
dr.ring their retreat, they attacked the second Kentucky regiment, 
■r,-hich had pursued beyond supporting distance. The gallant troops 
composing it were overwhelmed with immense slaughter, and driven 
into a ravine, where they were saved from total annihilation only by 
the timely discharg-e of a battery placed there under command of 
Captain Washington. The remainder of the American artillery 
:hen opened a heavy fire upon the Mexican right flank, which con- 
tributed materially to his final repulse. Night had now fallen upou 

3 a2 



558 



OPLRATIONS OF GENERAL TAYLOR. 




OOLO JHFFBHSON DAVIS. 



.ne field, and each army appeared unwilling further to test the 
strength of the other. Notwithstanding the numerous changes in 
position, the forces occupied nearly the same ground as they had in 
the morning. The Americans expected a renewal of the battle on 
the following day ; but the disheartened condition of the Mexicans 
rendered this impossible ; and before daylight, Santa Anna, with his 
troops, was in full retreat to Agua Nueva. 

In this action the Americans lost two hundred and sixty-seven 
killed, four hundred and fifty-six wounded, and twenty-three missing. 
The killed and wounded of the enemy have been estimated at more 
than two thousand, nearly five hundred of their dead being left upon 
tne field. The relative loss of officers among the Americans is sur- 
prisingly great, and comprises some of the brightest ornaments 
to the service. The names of Colonels Yell, Hardin, Clay, McKee, 



WITHPKAWAL OF GENERAL TAYLOR'S TROOPS. 559 



Captain Lincoln, and others, will long be remembered in conneciion 
with the price at which this victory was bought. 

The report of this action was sent toward the seat of government, 
in care of Mr. Crittenden, escorted by Major Giddings, with two 
hundred and sixty men. This force was attacked by General Urrea, 
with a numerous body of lancers, but succeeded in driving him 
off with loss. The major had two soldiers and fifteen teamsters 
killed. Immediately after, General Taylor started in pursuit of 
Urrea, having with him Captain May's dragoons, and two companies 
of artillery. The pursuit continued as far as Caiderela, when the 
Mexican general succeeded in escaping beyond the mountains. 
General Taylor then fell back upon Monterey, and, with General 
Wool, concerted a plan for marching against San Luis Potosi. This 
he was prevented from executing, by a second demand for troops 
made upon him by General Scott, which deprived him of nearly ail 
the officers and men by whom he had been so nobly sustained at 
Buena Vista. Toward the close of the year, he returned to the 
United States, leaving the command of the army at Monterey with 
General Wool. 



COLONS!. FRSMONT 



CHAPTER LJ. 

OPERATIONS IN CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO. 

O sooner had war been determined on betvreeri 
the United States and Mexico, than the at- 
tention of the former country was turned to- 
ward those vast provinces lying to the north 
of Mexico proper, and over which she had ai 
no time held more than a nominal sway. Ac- 
cordingly, almost simultaneously with the ope- 
rations of General Taylor against Matamoras, a military force of 
three hundred drag ons, and three thousand Missouri volunteers, 
was concentrated at Fort Leavenworth, under Brigadier-GeneraJ 

ft60 




SUCCESS OF COLONEL DONIPHAN. 



661 



Kearny or the purpose of marching- against New Mexico. A 
portion of these operations have been narrated in the history of Cali- 
fornia ; but a summary sketch, although at the risk of some repetition, 
seems necessary here, in order to preserve the natural connection of 
dates. On the 18th of Aoigust, 1846, this army took possession 
of the capital city, Santa Fe, where Kearny organized a free govern- 
ment, under the direction of the United States, formed a code of 
laws, and appointed Charles Bent governor. On the 25th of Sep- 
tember, he marched for Upper California, leaving orders with Colonel 
Doniphan to proceed with about one thousand men, against the 
Navajo Indians. 

Doniphan carried on his campaign against the Indians until the 
14th of December ; and on the 17th, he again set forward on an 
expedition to the south, leaving Colonel Price at Santa Fe with 
fifteen hundred men. Immediately after his departure, an insur- 
rection of the inhabitants took place, which was suppressed with 
difficulty ; and this was followed by the murder of Governor Bent 
and others, by secret parties throughout the country. So strong was 
the popular feeling against the Americans, that on the 24th of Feb- 
ruary, a large body of the insurgents attacked Colonel Price at La 
Canada, but were repulsed. Another battle took place on the 29th, 
at the strong post of El Embudo, where the Mexicans were defeated 
with considerable loss. Price then marched to Puebla de Taos, 
which was attacked on the 4th of February, and after a vigorous 
assault, wHich lasted all day, compelled to capitulate. The principal 
leaders of the conspiracy were shot, after which Price returned to 
Santa Fe. 

Meanwhile Colonel Doniphan had been fighting his way toward 
El Paso del Norte. On Christmas day he was attacked at Bracito 
by eleven hundred men, and though his own force actually engaged 
was only about five hundred, he defeated his assailants with the loss 
of two hundred in killed and wounded. On the 29th, he entered 
El Paso, and on the 8th of February marched for Chihuahua. At 
the pass of Sacramento he encountered four thousand of the enemy, 
strongly posted behind a system of twenty-seven redoubts, and having 
ten pieces of cannon. Doniphan's force was nine hundred and 
twenty-four men, who were obliged to protect a train of three hun- 
dred and fifty wagons, besides the regular army train. But so in- 
timidated were the Mexicans, that on being assailed, they abandoned 
iheir works, after a slight resistance, and fled over the adjacent 
n 



562 OPERATIONS IN CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO. 




BATTLE OF BBAOITO. 



mountains. Two Americans were killed, and seven wounded. On 
the 1st of March, formal possession was taken of Chihuahua. Re- 
ceiving orders from General Wool to join his command at Saltillo, 
Doniphan reached that place May 23, 1847, and soon after, his 
command was reviewed by General Taylor. When the term of ser- 
vice of his troops expired, he returned with them to New Orleans. 

During these events, Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, who had ori- 
ginally been sent into California on a scientific expedition, had raised 
a considerable force of mounted men, with which he commenced, 
operations against the Mexican troops in his vicinity. On the 13th 
of June, he captured thirteen men and two hundred horses, belong- 
ing to Genera] Castro, and on the 15th, he took possession of Sanoma 
pass, containing a small garrison, nine cannon, and a number of 
muskets. On the Pacific coast. Commodore Sloat had taken the 
sea-port of Monterey, and on the 12th of August, a body of riflemen 
under Fremont, and Commodore Stockton, Sloat's successor, took 
possession of Ciudad de los Angelos, of which Fremont was appointed 
governor. On the 11th of December, Kearny reached the city of 
San Diego, in California, having five days previously gained a victory 



RECAPTURE OF LOS ANGELOS. 



563 




GEN2BAL EEASNT -WOtJUDSD AT SAN PASQUAL. 



at San Pasqual, where, with many of his officers and men, he wis 
wounded. On the 8th of January, he fought another battle to re- 
capture the city of Los Angelos, which had been taken by the 
Mexicans. Being successful, quiet was for a short period restored 
to California. 

On the 16th of November, Colonel Burton, with a little garrison 
at La Paz, was attacked by a considerable force of the enemy, raised 
principally among the neighbouring towns, and sustained a trying 
siege of nearly a week's duration. Nearly at the same time. Lieu- 
tenant Heywood was assaulted at San Jose, but succeeded in driving 
away the enemy after two days' skirmishing. The whole popula- 
tion of New Mexico and California was so discontented with the 
government of the Americans, that small parties were organiz(>d 
throughout these territories for the purpose of keeping alive the re- 
membrance of their connection with the Mexican government 
These finally assumed so serious an aspect as to oblige General 
(formerly Colonel) Price to take the field with a large force. On 
the 9th of March, that officer laid siege to Santa Cruz de Rosales, 
which was defended by a military garrison under General Trias 
After a bombardment, which lasted until the 16th, and a furious 
assault OL »-hat day, the city surrendered. This action closed the 
military events of the war in California and New Mexico. 



OSN^RAL SOOTT 



CHAPTER LII. 

CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL SCOTT. 

HE favourite scheme of the American government, 
during the Mexican war, was to conduct an expedi- 
tion against the enemy's capital, by way of Vera 
Cruz, and a land march towards the interior. The 
first step in this operation was the reduction of the 
latter city, with its strong castle of San Juan de Ulloa. Its execu- 
tion was confided to Major-General Scott, who arrived at the mouth 
of the Rio Grande, January 1 1847. After detaching a large num 
Der of troops from the " Army of Occupation," ne embarked ["Marcis 

564 




SIEGE OF VERA CRUZ. 



565 



7J with twelve thousand men, on board the squadron of Commodore 
Conner, and on the 9th of March landed his army near Vera Cruz. 
On the following day, after a slight opposition from the enemy, the 
city was formally invested, and the fleet commenced the landing of 
mortars and other pieces necessary for a siege. On the 13th, not- 
withstanding a heavy fire from the town, the Americans had suc- 
ceeded in completing the entire investmg line, which occupied a 
space of ground eight miles in length, and completely circumscribed 
the city. From this time to the 22d they were occupied in landing 
and planting their batteries, although exposed to a severe fire of artil- 
lery from the city and castle. About noon of the 22d, General Scott 
summoned the city to surrender, but Governor Morales replied that 
sooner than do so he would bury himself beneath its ruins. Imme- 
diately upon the reception of this answer, the general ordered his 
men into position, and opened upon the city with his mortars. This 
was retorted on the part of the enemy with shells and shot ; and the 
firing on both sides, from the time of opening until the night of the 
25th, was heavy, and with but little interruption. On the 22d the 
smaller vessels of the American fleet took up a position close to the 
shore, and added their fire to that of the land forces, with much effect. 
On the following day, this little fleet, after doing material injury to 
the fortifications, was withdrawn to a position of greater safety. On 
the 26th, a violent nortb'^ set in, which raised such quantities of sand 
as completely filled the trenches, and caused a temporary cessation 
of hostilities. Communication with the fleet was also cut off". But 
so destructive had been the fire of the Americans, both to Hfe and 
property, that the citizens petitioned their governor to open negotia- 
tions of surrender. This he resolutely declined to do, declaring his 
determination to yield only when it would no longer be possible for 
him to fire a gun. But terror at the sight of the surrounding scenes 
of destruction overcoming every other feehng. Morales was finally 
obliged to resign, and General Landero was elected in his stead. 
Early on the morning of the 27th that officer sent a flag of truce to 
General Scott, proposing to surrender the city by itself. To this the 
general-in-chief replied that he could not stipulate for either city or 
castle apart from the other. But, during the same day, negotiations 
were again opened by the enemy, which finally resulted in the sur« 
lender of both Vera Cruz and its castle. Generals Worth and Pil- 
low, with Colonel Totten, were the American commissioners ; Vil- 
launuera, Herrera, and Robles, those of the enemy. In substance, 
36 3B 



666 



CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL SCOTT. 





the terms of capitulation were, that the Mexican officers should retire 
^0 their houses on parole, carrying with them their arms and pri7ate 
effects; their army was to be dismissed on parole, while public pro- 
perty of every description was to be given up to the United States, 
on condition of being restored to Mexico by a definite treaty of peace. 
On the 29th the surrender took place. Leaving "the city and castle, 
the Mexicans marched between the extended lines of their con 
querors, stacked their arms, laid down the national colours, and de- 
parted for the interior. Immediately after this ceremony, General 
Scott entered Vera Cruz, at the head of General Worth's division, 
and in company with the chief officers of the army and navy. When 
the national flag was hoisted over the castle and mam plaza, salutes 
were fired from the guns of the castle, the city batteries, and the 
squadron. General Worth was appointed military governor of the 
3ity, Colonel Belton of the castle, and Major Scott of the strong work 
railed Fort Santiago. 

The loss of the Americans during this siege was but seventeen 
Jled, and twenty-eight wounded ; that of the Mexican army has 
3ver been ascertained. So destructive was the American artillery 



LIEUTENANT HUNTER. 567 

that it has been estimated that at least five hundred non-combatants 
were killed by the bursting of bombs through houses, or among 
crowds collected in the streets. The quantity of military stores 
taken by General Scott's army was very great. Besides four thou- 
sand stand of arms laid down by the enemy in retiring, one thou- 
sand more were found in the city ; four hundred pieces of cannon, 
with a vast amount of shells, powder, and shot, were found either in 
position or in stores. 

On the 30th, Commodore Perry, successor to Conner in the com- 
mand of the Gulf Squadron, detached the steamer Scourge, Lieuten- 
ant Hunter, to blockade the port of Alvarado, which had been twice 
^^^^^ attacked unsuccessfully by 

Commodore Conner. In 
approaching the town the 
vessel opened a fire upon 
it, and sent a boat on shore 
containing two officers and 
a few men, with a demand 
for an unconditional surren- 
der of the place in thirty 
minutes. The terrified au- 
thorities instantly acceded ; 
and thus the town which 
had so long resisted 
the American Gulf forces, 
was taken without blood- 
shed by a steamer of three 
guns. On the following 
ooMMODORB PFRBT. moming, at 2 o'clock,, the 

Scourge appeared before the town of Tlacotalpam, where a similar 
summons was followed by similar success. For these operations 
Lieutenant Hunter was dismissed from the squadron, for having dis- 
obeyed orders in attacking the town, when he was instructed merely 
to blockade it. 

After remaining about two weeks at Vera Cruz, General Scott 
commenced his march for the Mexican capital. On the 14th of 
April, General Twiggs, with the van of the army, reached the moun- 
tain pass of Cerro Gordo, where he was soon afterwards joined by 
the main body. Here, among the high hills commanding the road, 
were posted ten thousand Mexican troops, in strong redoubts, com 

71 




568 



CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL SCOTT 




B^. t:lb of cbbro qordo. 



minded by President Santa Anna. This officer, after the battle of 
Buena Vista, had retired to the capital ; and, by extraordinary^ exer- 
tions, had succeeded in raising another army, with which he hoped 
to retrieve h's former losses, and rid his country ( f its enemies. 
With a promptitude that does him honour, he threw himself in the 
way of greatest danger ; and, instead of again marching agninst Gene- 
ral Tayl'jr, then in command of but a handful of raw volunteers, he 
hurried forward to oppose the victorious career of the conqueror of 
Vera Cruz. Seizing the strong gorge of Cerro Gordo, he fortified it 
in such a manner that, in approaching, an assailing party would be 
oblio-ed tn march alono- the distance of a mile in full ranore of his bat- 
teries. On one flank General La Vega was posted with a large force, 
and on the other several garrisons of small forts. 

On the afternoon of the 17th General Scott commenced a careful 
reconnoissance of the enemy's position. Before entering the ridge 
of cliffs known as the Cerro Gordo, the road crosses the bed of a once 
large stream known as the Plan del Rio. On the right was a high 
cliff covered with for^s and batteries, and similar fortifications form- 
ing a strong chain of defence. A front attack would have led to a 
total annihilation of the American forces, and upon this direction of 
assault Santa Anna had evidently calculated. But on the evening 



BATTLE OF CEERO GORDO. 



569 



of the ITili General Scott opened a new road through the chaparral 
to the right, so as to escape the fire in front, and turn the Mexican 
left flank. As General Twiggs's division then became greatly ex- 
posed, Colonel Harney was sent against a fort on the steep ascent 
in front ; and, under a heavy fire of grape and musketry, carried it 
with the rifles and a small detachment of infantry and artillery. 
The two armies were now in view of each other ; but no further 
operations took place during the night, except the movement of 
Twiggs's division to secure a position favorable for opening the 
attack on the following day. 

Early on the ISfh Twiggs was ordered forward from the captured 
position against Santa Anna's main fort, while at the same time Gen- 
eral Pillow assaulted the enemy's right, where La Vega was posted ; 
and Generals Shields and Worth seized upon the Jalapa road, so as 
to cut off all retreat. The van of Twiggs's division, under the 
intrepid Harney, moved up the steep ascent, although exposed to 
sweeping fires of cannon and musketry, and notwithstanding their 
severe loss, paused not until they had gained the works and leaped 
among the enemy. The ensuing struggle was but short, and the 
Mexicans were soon flying in all directions to gain the main road. 
They here experienced their greatest loss ; and one of their generals, 
Vasquez. v\-as killed. During this time General Worth had been 
using great efforts to reach a fort in Santa Anna's rear, which was 
defended by General Pinzon, a mulatto officer of considerable abil- 
ity and courage. This he accomplished soon after the victory of 
Twiggs's division, so that on being summoned to surrender, the gar- 
rison thought it most prudent to comply. These successes were, 
however, dampened by the repulse of General Pillow from the bat- 
teries commanded by La Yega. A renewal of the attack was 
attended by the same result, but the garrisons finally surrendered 
on ascertaining the fate of Santa Anna's position. On the Jalapa 
road. General Shields, while gallantly seconding the eft'orts of the 
main army, v/as dangerously wounded by a musket ball through 
the lungs, and carried senseless from the field. The command of 
his troops devolved on Colonel Baker, who pursued the enemy 
until late in the afternoon. Their loss during the flight was 
greater than while the battle lasted. 

In this action the force of the Americans was about eight thou- 
sand men. The loss in killed and wounded was between four and 
five hundred, that of the Mexicans being nearly the same. More 

72 3B2 



570 



CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL SCOTT. 




COLONEL BAKER. 



than three thousand prisoners were taken, together with Generals 
Pinzon, Jarrero, La Vega, Obando, and Noriega, with an immense 
quantity of field batteries, heavy ordnance, small arms and accoutre- 
ments. The private baggage and money chest of Santa Anna, con- 
taining about twenty thousand dollars in specie, were also captured. 
Santa Anna himself, with Ampudia and Canalizo, escaped by a pri- 
vate pass, and gained the Jalapa road in rear of the Americans. 

Determined to render the rout of the enemy as complete as pos- 
sible. General Scott pushed on his forces in haste along the Jalapa 
road. On the following day Twiggs entered Jalapa without oppo- 
sition ; and on the 21st the town and strong castle of Perote were 
taken by General Worth. Three weeks after, [May 15,] that 
active officer took possession of Puebla, which became for a while 
the head-quarters of the American army. 

On the 18tli of April, Commodore Perry entered the harbour of 
Tuspan with a portion of his fleet, attacked the town, and forced it 
to surrender, with a loss on his part of seventeen killed and wounded. 



GUERILLA WARFARE. 



571 



Santa Anna, after his defeat at Cerro Gordo, proceeded to the 
capital, which he reached on the 17th of May. He immediately 
collected into one the scattered fragments of the various armies dis- 
persed throughout the country, and began an elaborate system of 
defence. Stirring appeals were addressed to the patriotism of the 
people, calling for men, money, and stores ; the aid of religious sen- 
timent was invoked, and every means taken to rouse the country for 
one more great effort. The strong pass of the Rio Frio, considered 
one of the most dangerous in Mexico for an assailing army, was 
occupied by a considerable force, who erected there some works. 
About this period, also, the formidable guerilla force scattered among 
the mountains and defiles, were authorized to commence their sys- 
tematic operations against the Americans. A guerilla party was 
composed of lancers, rancheros, and highwaymen, mounted on horse- 
back, and attacking small companies or trains as opportunity offered. 
The only code of war acknowledged by these guerillas was their 
own will ; so that the introduction of this system gave a peculiarly 
ferocious aspect to many of the scenes of 1847-8. At different times 
a number of these outlaws attacked persons upon the road from Mon- 
terey and Vera Cruz to the capital, and frequently butchered them 
in a shocking manner. The Americans were not slow in retaliating. 
In a rancho near Seralvo a number of volunteers hung about forty 
Mexicans, and then secretly decamped. A young man named 
Oglesby having been murdered in returning from Camargo, a party 
of Texans pursued the murderers, overtook them, and put all to the 
sword. The most strenuous efforts were made by the authorities of 
both nations to prevent such horrible occurrences ; but the evil con- 
tinued, with but little interruption, until the close of the war. 

On the 8th of June, a party numbering one hundred and fifty vo- 
lunteers and citizens, under Captain Bainbridge, left Puebla for Vera 
Cruz. On approaching the Cerro Gordo, some of the officers were 
fired upon, and the party were soon after informed that several thou- 
sand Mexicans were in the pass. Continuing to advance, they ascer- 
tained that a detachment of the enemy were barricading the bridge; 
and although evening had already fallen, and they were excessively 
fatigued, yet a guard was posted below the bridge, in order to pre- 
vent surprise. On the following morning the bridge was passed 
without opposition ; but when an officer and private soldier returned 
to bring over the wagons, the whole train was fired upon by about 
twenty-five Mexicans, by which four men were killed, and a wagoD 



572 



CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL SCOTT. 




taken. About the same time a body of lancers appeared on irm 
opposite side, but rode away on perceiving that the captain was pre 
paring to receive them. The little company then pursued its way 
undisturbed until it arrived at the camp of Colonel Mcintosh, which 
was posted upon the road. 

HIS officer, like Captain Bainbridge, had been 
attacked by a large force of the enemy, 
and was now waiting for reinforcements 
The attack had lasted ail night, and was 
successfully met only by the exertions of 
Captain Duperu's dragoons. After resting 
a day, Bainbridge again set out for Vera 
Cruz, which he reached in safety ; but 
Captain Duperu, having a long return 
train to guard, which was threatened by a 
large body of Jancers, halted at Santa Fe. 
Here he was charged by a superior force, 
which he repulsed with but httle loss to himself, although a few of 
the wagons were cut off, and their drivers captured. Soon after, he 
reached Vera Cruz in safety, having lost, in all, three killed and three 
wounded. 

On the same day that the party under Captain Bainbridge left 
Colonel Mcintosh's camp. General Cadwalader reached it with eight 
hundred men and two howitzers. On ascertaining that the train had 
been attacked, he marched for the National Bridge, where he soon 
came into action with a large Mexican force strongly posted behind 
ridges and chaparral. During the battle, some volunteers under 
Lieutenant BJakely charged and swept some barricades which had 
been thrown up by the enemy, while, at the same time, the heights 
on the right and left were also carried. General Cadwalader then 
crossed the bridge, but was annoyed during a great part of his march 
by a flank and rear fire from several parties of guerillas. His loss 
was fifteen killed, and from thirty to forty wounded ; that of the 
enemy was about one hundred. During these attempts of the gue- 
rillas, the Americans lost no less than thirty wagons, two hundred 
pack mules, and several thousand dollars in specie. 

It has already been mentioned, that soon after the battle of Cerro 
Gordo the Mexicans detached a military force to take possession of 
the Rio Frio pass, and fortify againsi the advance of the Americans 
Why this was not done has yet to be explained ; but the neglect wa* 



ADVANCE UPON MEXICO. 57.^ 

sertainly an egregious error on the part of Mexico. The gorge could 
have sustained a few courageous men against the efforts of an entire 
army ; and until the news of its having been passed by General Scott 
reached the United States, no little anxiety was felt in that country 
for the result. But so strangely negligent were the Mexicans, that 
even the works thrown up there were abandoned at the approach of 
the American forces. 

On the 4th of August General Scott's army commenced its march 
for the Mexican capital, moving by detachments. Owing to the preva- 
lence of heavy rains, which rendered the roads almost impassable, the 
troops were unable to reach Ayotla before the 15th. About four miles 
in advance of this place was the strong fortification of El Penon, which 
mounted fifty -two pieces of cannon, was munitioned and garrisoned in 
the most careful manner, and completely commanded the road. A day 
was spent in reconnoitering this work, when the American commander 
resolved cn avoiding it, by opening an old abandoned road leading to 
the southward around Lake Chalco towards the capital. This was cut 
up by ravines, lava beds, and rocks, to such an extent that in the rainy 
season it was regarded as impassable even for travellers ; yet around 
it the army marched with their baggage, artillery, and stores, and 
reached San Augustin on the 17th, after having dispersed a body of 
lancers on the way. On the afternoon of the following day General 
Worth's column was ordered towards San Antonio, and a company 
of engineers escorted by Captain Thornton began a careful recon- 
noissance of that place. While this was going on, the garrison 
fired from a masked battery, killing the captain and wounding 
one of the guides. The party were then withdrawn, while Colo- 
nel Duncan's battery with some sappers and miners moved down 
the road to a position which would enable them to act in any 
direction in case of emergency. On the American left was placed 
Colonel Smith'is light battalion, for the purpose of watching the 
enemy's flank Colonels Clark and Garland occupied other parts of 
the field. All these troops were without shelter, although a drench- 
ing rain continued to fall all n]ght. A portion of the first brigade, 
under General Worth, was stationed at a neighbouring hacienda, 
which, during the night, was exposed to the fire of the San Antonio 
batteries. Before morning the rain fell in such quantities that many 
of the companies were obliged to rise and remain standing until 
daylight. 

The Mexican posts around San Augustin presented a series oi 



574 



CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL SCOTT. 




QBNEBAL TWIQ08. 



loriifications of great natural strength, carefully erected, and provided 
with every thing necessary to a successful resistance. Around 
)t, in every direction, was an irregular valley, broken by rocks and 
gullies, and having the whole surface jagged with sharp points 
of lava. Among the rocks to the west was the fortress of Contreras, 
containing several thousand men, and mounting twenty-two pieces 
of cannon. North of San Augustin were the still stronger works of 
Churubusco, and at short distances, those of San Angel and San 
Pallo, all filled with large garrisons and bristling with cannon and 
musketry. The city wall was one huge fortification. 

On the 19th, Captain Lee, with Lieutenants Beauregard and 
Tower, continued the previous day's reconnoissance of the hostile 
lines. While this was going on. General Pillow, accompanied by 
the forces of Lieutenants Smith and Callender, was ordered toward 
Contreras. He advanced, opening the road step by step, until he 
reached an elevated position, from which the enemy's works were ir 
view. He was soon joined by the advance under General Twiggs 



BATTLE OF CONTRERAS. 




GENERAL PIHHCE. 



which moved forward, planting their batteries and driving in the 
enemy's pickets. General Smith's brigade then proceeded to the 
left, and Colonel Riley's to the right, dragging their cannon with 
great difficulty over a surface apparently impassable to footmen. 
After the Americans had planted a howitzer battery under the care 
of Captain Magruder, they were fired upon by the enemy, who 
wounded Lieutenant Johnstone mortally, and Callender severely. 
So heavy was this fire, that the American batteries were soon after- 
wards withdrawn. But at this time General Smith engaged the 
Mexican infantry outside the fort ; and at the same moment, the 
artillery gained a favourable position, and recommenced firing. On 
both sides, the cannonading became general, but that of the enemy 
at length obliged the battery of Captain Magruder to withdraw 
General Pierce, with his brigade, then advanced to support Smith 



576 



CAMPiTGN OF GENERAL SCOTT. 




GENERAL SHIELDS. 



and Cadwalader to support Colonel Riley. On observing these 
movements, a large body of lancers advanced from Churubusco, 
and threatened Cadwalader's position ; but by order of General Pil- 
low, Colonel Morgan, with the fifteenth infantry, advanced to Cad- 
walader's support; and General Scott arriving about the same time, 
detached the volunteers of General Shields for the same purpose. 
The left flank were now exposed to a heavy fire of the enemy, the 
troops rapidly pursuing a route evidently marked for them by the 
wily foe. To divert the attention of the enemy, a femt attack was 
conducted against Contreras, while General Smith, with some artil- 
lery and rifles, fell back to Ensaldo, a village bordered on one side 
by a deep ravine, and on the other by a small stream of water. 
Between these extended a high stone wall. Narrow lanes intersected 
tach other in various directions, cutting up the village in small poi 
tions, which are covered with flowers, shrubbery, and fruit trees 



BATTLE OF CONTRERAS. 



i / 



Here the American soldiers were posted, secure in a great measure 
^rom the fire or observation of the enemy. 

General Smith now resolved to attack the large cavalry force which 
had been hovering near the American troops all day. He was to be 
assisted by Riley and Cadwalader. But before the preliminary 
arrangements could be completed, night set in, rainy as before, so 
that the Mexican troops could not be seen. The attempt was aban- 
doned, Cadwalader resumed his position at the edge of the village, and 
Riley's brigade was formed inside, together with the rifles and in- 
fantry. In these positions they passed the night, destitute of both 
fires and shelter, although exposed to a drenching rain. The other 
divisions of the army, including even General Scott and the higher 
officers, were equalh'- destitute of shelter. 

During the night. General Smith formed a plan for capturing 
Contreras with the bayonet, and the necessary orders or instructions 
were communicated to his command about midnight. At three 
o'clock next morning, the general's division began its march. Im- 
mediately after. Genera] Shields arrived with his volunteers, but 
generously declined assuming the command. His troops then moved 
into Ensaldo, so as to prevent the enemy occupying it in case of 
their being defeated. The storming party of Smith's brigade was 
led by Colonel Riley, supported by Generals Cadwalader and Smith. 
The intrepid colonel marched along the bed of the ravine, until he 
had arrived opposite the fort, when he ascended the bank, but was 
still protected from the opposing batteries by an elevation of ground. 
Mounting this, he was within full sweep of the Mexican artillerists, 
who immediately opened. But calling to his men to follow, and 
breasting the withering storm that fell on all sides, Riley rushed 
down the slope, followed by his brigade, and was soon upon the 
works. Cadwalader hurried to support him, and General Smith or- 
dered a brigade to face to the left, and advance in line to attack the 
enemy's force in flank. The struggle was soon decided. The 
enemy fled on all sides, and were attacked -n their flight, and forced 
to disperse in different directions. While hurrying toward the 
village of Ensaldo, they were fired upon by Shields's command 
which had stealthily left the village and concealed itself near the 
line of retreat. The Americans commenced a rapid pursuit, which 
was continued with great effect, until the Mexican main body had 
succeeded in passing through a narrow defile, when one of theii 
officers drew up a number of lancers at the pass, and surrendered. 

73 30 



5Ts 



CAMPAICtX of LtEXER-A.! SOOTl. 




If. as s probable, this moTement was designed to occupy the timeoi 
ihe p siie-s until the fagitiTes could take refuge in Churubasco, it 
mus: If fr^rded as erincing as much sagacity as any measure 
td : : i : r fcemy daring the war. 

Tie :":.:::s ::" ■.."•'s victory were fifteen hundred prisoners, twenty- 
two pieces c: : large quantities of ammunidon and military 
s::rfs. v, : . rack-mules. Amone the prisoners were 
several czicfrs :: :: ^ :. rank. One of the most pleasing circum- 
stances connected with the action, was the recapture of the twr. 
^ur.s : : GJeneral Taylor at Boena Tista. 

Wiii.e :ne pursuit was going on, GJeneral Scott arrived at Gon- 
ireras, and leaving a s:r al- garrison at that place, w^th instrucuons 
coDCeming t^e w:::: :Ti an: prisoners, he harried on the main 
poition of the army :c\,a:il '.ne posts of San Ar gel and San Pailo 



STORMING OF CHURUBUSCO. 



579 



The troops of Generals Twiggs, Shields, and Pillow, were all en 
gaged in this service. They soon overtook the rear of the Mexican 
forces, with which a sort of running fight took place until it had 
taken shelter in the fortress of Churubusco, where a garrison still 
larger than that of Contreras was preparing for one more struggle. 

Churubusco is a small village, surrounded, at that time, by a sy«p- 
tern of stone walls, surmounted by a well-defended hacienda, which 
was in like manner overtopped by a church. The walls, hacienda, 
and church, were lined with sharp-shooters, and provided with 
pieces of heavy cannon. About four hundred yards from the village 
a small stream was crossed by a bridge, the head of which, or tete 
du pont, forms a fortification so strong as to be considered by the 
Mexicans impregnable. As these works completely cross-fired the 
road, it was necessary to attack both at once. Accordingly, Twiggs 
was sent against Churubusco, Worth against the fete du pont, while 
Shields moved across the meadows in a direction parallel with the 
main (Acapulco) road, so as to cut off the enemy's retreat. 

Worth moved from San Auguslin about eight a. m., and after com- 
pelling the garrison of San Antonio to evacuate that place, he pushed 
rapidly for Churubusco. Twiggs's troops were already engaged at 
the main works, and as Worth's division moved toward the tete du 
pont, it received a galling fire from the Mexican guns at the walls 
and hacienda. At this time, vast bodies of the enemy were observed 
approaching from the city, while long columns of lancers and infantry 
were stationed at different points, for the purpose of annoying the 
assailants. The works at the bridge now opened their fire, filling 
the air with the reiterated shocks of cannon and musketry, the up- 
roar of shouting thousands, and, at intervals, the deep groans of the 
dying. Worth now threw Colonel Grarland's brigade to the right, 
where it entered some corn-fields, and soon dislodged the enemy 
from their concealed position in that quarter. At the same time, 
Clarke's brigade, with Duncan's battery, moved to other points 
on the road, from whence it moved between Garland's and the road 
and then rushing down upon the enemy's works, it mounted them, 
and cleared the artillery with the bayonet. So sudden and vigorous 
was this charge of the Americans, that instead of resisting, the Mexi- 
cans threw down their arms and fled precipitately to the capital. 
The captured cannon were instantly turned upon the garrison of 
Churubusco. 

This position had, in the meanwhile, been vigorously assaulted by 



580 



CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL SCOTT. 



Twiggs, with his whole division ; but so strong were the works, and 
«o determined the efforts of the enemy, that after three hours' hard 
fighting, no impression had been made. During all this time, the 
walls wrre in one continuous blaze of artillery and musketry ; and 
BO dense were the volumes of smoke, that both armies were often en- 
tirely hidden from view, and guided in firing only by the flash of 
the opposing batteries. But after Worth's \ictory had enabled him 
to direct his guns upon the church and hacienda, the vigour of the * 
defence was sensibly diminished, and in half an hour the garrison 
gave way, and fled with precipitation toward the capital. 1 hey 
were pursued by Colonel Harney's dragoons to withm a few yirds 
cif the capital. Worth and Twigrgs then drew up their troops near 
the hacienda, to await orders from the general-in-chief. He soon 
paired on the ground, and after complimenting the soldiers on their 
success, ordered further pursuit to be suspended for the night. Ex- 
clusive of the garrison of Contreras, the enemy lost, on this memo- 
rable day, twelve hundred prisoners, fifteen hundred killed or 
wounded, including many able oflicers — with cannon, equipments, 
small arms, and ammunition in proportion. Their whole army had 
been broken up, and the capital laid open to the mercy of the invaders. 
The whole loss of the Americans in killed, wounded and missing, 
was ten hundred and fifty-three. In this celebrated engagement the 
splendid " Palmetto Regiment," of South Carolina, sufi'ered most 
severely, and their gallant commander, Col. Butler, fell, covered with 
wounds and with glory. 

At this time, such was the terror and confusion among all classes 
within the city, that General Scott could probably have entered it 
without much additional loss. But while writing a summons for its 
surrender, he was waited upon by a commission proposing a truce. 
Rejecting the terms, he despatched his contemplated n^te to Santa 
Anna, omitting the summons. Nothing further took place until the 
following day, when commissioners were appointed by both com- 
manders, who, on the 23d, signed an armistice, preparatory to a 
permanent peace, and exchanged ratifications on the 24th. Nego- 
tiations were imm'^diately opened for the conclusion of a permanent 
peace. 

In the fortress of Churubusco, Sergeant Riley, with seventy otheis, 
who had deserted from the army, either before the war or at different 
periods of its progress, had been captured, while fighting bravely 
against their fn:-mer comrades. These were tried by court-martia 



TAKING OF CHAPULTEPEC. 



581 



during the armistice, and a number of them having been found guilty 
of treason, were hung in the presence of both armies. The remainder, 
in consequence of having deserted before the opening of the war, had 
their punishment remitted to branding, public whipping, and impri* 
sonment until the army should leave Mexico. 

During the armistice, Mr. Trist, the commissioner selected by 
President Polk to negotiate a peace, proposed to the Mexican authori- 
ties that the disputed territory between the Nueces and Rio Grande, 
together with New Mexico and Upper California, should be yielded 
to the United States for the sum of fifteen millions of dollars. This 
was refused by the Mexican commissioners, who declined to yield 
any portion of their territory west of the Nueces. Mr. Trist then 
offered his ultimatum or final project on the subject of boundaries, 
and the negotiators adjourned to re-assemble on the 6th of September 
No further communication took place between the armies until that 
lay, when General Scott addressed a note to Santa Anna, accusing 
him of violating the terms of the armistice, by fortifying different 
works in the city, and threatening a resumption of hostilities in forty- 
eight hours, unless satisfactory explanation could be given. To th'i 
the Mexican general replied by charging the Americans with having 
obstructed the intercourse between the capital and surrounding 
country, and committed opprobrious deeds in the more interior towns 
and villages — at the same time intimating that General Scott might 
resort to hostilities whenever he wished. The armistice was at an 
end. 

The 7th was occupied by. the American general in reconnoitering 
the extended line of works outside the city. The southern approaches 
to the capital were defended by works of astonishing strength, erected 
upon the wall and gates, and an intricate labyrinth of dikes, canals, 
ravines, ditches, and causeways, outside of the ga^tes. Further to the 
west, was the hill of Chapultepec, surmounted by a strong castle and 
tower, and connected by heavy masonry works with the Casa Mata 
and founderies of Mohno del Rey. The reconnoissance convinced 
General Scott that an attempt upon the city in this quarter would be 
attended with immense loss of hfe, and probably total failure. He 
therefore resolved to make a diversion to the gates on the south-west 
and west, and enter the city in that quarter. The first step in this 
new movement was to carry Chapultepec and Molino del Rey ; and 
a necessary requisite to final success was to deceive the enemy by a 
feint upon the southern gates, by which they might still be induced 

37 302 



582 



CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL SCOTT. 




MOLINO DSL RS T C HA-PULTBPaC IS TH3 DISTANCB 



to retain the greater part of their cannon and other munitions in that 
quarter until the western defences were carried. 

Early on the 8th, General Worth was detached against the Molino 
del Rey, with the brigade of Cadwalader in reserve. It was found 
necessary to isolate the works around Casa Mata from those of Cha- 
pultepec, an undertaking of much difficulty and hazard. At day- 
break, the army in two columns attacked simultaneously the MoHno 
and Casa Mata. The troops rushed forward upon the former place, 
unshaken by the glare of batteries vomiting forth showers of grape 
and canister, until they had reached the works and driven back the 
artillerists with the bayonet. The field-battery was captured, and 
its guns trailed upon the retiring masses. A moment after, they 
rallied, and, supported by numbers of infantry, rushed toward the 
guns, pouring in a volley of musketry that struck down more than 
one-half of the victors. But after a vigorous struggle, they were 
driven out and pursued toward Chapultepec. 

Meanwhile, the 2d brigade, under Colonel Mcintosh, supported 
Dy Duncan's battery, moved with equal steadiness against the Casa 



SIEGE OF MEXICO. 



583 




STORMING OP MOLINO DEL BEY. 

Mata. The enemy's fire was so destructive, that although the troops 
moved under partial shelter, a large proportion of officers, with num- 
bers of assistants and soldiers, were killed or wounded. But on 
reaching the slope of the parapet commanding the citadel, it was 
discovered that the Casa Mata, instead of being a simple field-woik. 
as was hitherto supposed, was a strong Spanish fortress, surroundca 
by bastioned intrenchments and impassable ditches. Dismayed , by 
this discovery, and confused by the loss of officers, the assailants fell 
into confusion, halted, and then fell back toward Colonel Duncan's 
position. At this critical moment, a large cavalry and infantry force 
assaulted the American left, but were driven back by the artillery, fol- 
lowed by a vigorous charge of Major Sumner's dragoons. One-third 
of the latter were unhorsed by the fire of Casa Mata. Cadwalader's 
brigade now advanced to Worth's support, and the fortress was 
carried with the bayonet. In accordance with instructions. General 
Worth destroyed the walls, with most of the arms and ammunition, 
blew up the works, and returned to his head-quarters at Tacubaya. 

In this action, the most destructive to the Americans which they 
had yet experienced, their force was rather more than three thouband 



581 



CAMPAIGN OP GENERAL SCOTT. 



two hundred men. Of these, they lost seven hundred and eighty- 
nine, including fifty-eight officers. The total force of the garriso/* 
WSLS abou' fourteen thousand, and their loss, exclusive of deserteis, 
three thousand. 

In order to carry out his plan of deceiving the enemy. General 
Scott placed Twiggs, with Riley's brigade, and Taylor's and Step- 
toe's batteries, at the southern gates, with orders to bombard that 
quarter, as though in preparation for a general attack. The 9th, 10th 
and 11th, were occupied in making careful reconnoissances of the 
works on Chapultepec hill, a service conducted by the able engineers 
Stephens, Beauregard, Lee, and Tower. On the afternoon of the 
11th, the divisions of Twiggs, Pillow, and Quitman were concen- 
trated in view of the southern gates ; but during the night, the latter 
two generals, with their troops, were silently moved to I'acubaya, 
preparatory to the contemplated attack upon Chapultepec. Twiggs 
still remained in his former position. Early on the morning of the 
12th, the American batteries opened upon the castle, while the divi- 
sions of Pillow and Quitman were ordered to organize parties for 
the assault. The bombardment continued all day, the American 
guns being worked with such precision that soon the massive walls 
cf Chapultepec began to crumble, while the rocks around were split 
into thousands of pieces by the incessant storm of heavy shot. At 
the same time, the batteries from the castle were in full blast, 
imparting to the hill the appearance of a volcano in violent action. 
The scene attending this day's bombardment was grand and sub- 
hme, beyond even that of Vera Cruz. 

On the morning of the 13th, sufficient impression had been made 
upon the wails to authorize the commencement of the attack. It 
was conducted in two columns, the first from Pillow's division, under 
Colonel Ransom, the second from that of Quitman, under Major 
Twiggs and Captain Casey. The castle was commanded by Gene- 
ral Bravo, one of the bravest officers in the Mexican service. The 
cannonading of Chapultepec was continued without intermission, 
from dawn until 8 a. m., when its cessation was the signal for the 
movement of the storming parties. Pillow's division marched through 
a grove filled with sharp-shooters, clearing it as they advanced, and 
halting at the base of the hill. The storming party were in advance 
with fixed bayonets and empty muskets. At this crisis, Pillow was 
struck to the ground with a severe wound, and the command de- 
volved on General Cadwalader. Ransom rushed forvrard into thji 



STORMING OF CHAPULTEPEC. 



585 




COLONBL RANSOM. 



appalling shower of death hurled down by the castle, calling on his 
men to follow. They followed him with loud cheers ; but in a few 
moments he fell dead, shot through the brain, and the command fell 
upon Major Seymour. Undismayed by the death of their leader, 
and crowds falling on all sides, the soldiers clambered up the steep 
ascent, shouting the name of Ransom, and driving each other on- 
ward. A small battery outside the castle was speedily taken, and 
the assailants sprang forward through showers of fire, to the ditch. 
During all this time, the American batteries were throwing shells 
and shot over the storming party into the fortress, so as to prevent 
the arrival of reinforcements from the city. The enemy made 
several unsuccessful attempts to fire the mines ; and soon after, the 
scaling-ladders of the Americans were flung up, and the troops 
poured in one united stream upon the walls. Many Americans, 
during the first onset, were hurled to the ground, and then ensued 
the terrible conflict with the bayonet. It was short and decisive ; 
the garrison fled down the hill in heavy masses, their flag was torn 
from its staff by Major Seymour, anc! the rei^srated shouts of the 



^86 



CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL SCOTT. 




MAJOR (NOW OOLONBL) 83^11008. 

Americans announcea that Chapultepec had been gained. Along 
with this party, Quitman's troops, led by the heroic Casey, had en- 
tered. These troops had encountered obstacles equal at least to 
those of their comrades, being obliged to fight along the whole dis- 
tance of a causeway, cut up with ditches and batteries, and manned 
by great numbers of the enemy. But through obstacles apparently 
sufficient to appal the stoutest heart, duitman cheered on his hardy 
followers, ably supported by Genera] Smith and the rifles. Twiggs 
and Casey both fell mortally wounded. The troops then leaped 
the causeway, and crossed the adjacent meadows, amid a tremen- 
dous fire of musketry and artillery, and, notwithstanding heavy 
losses, reached the fort simultaneously with Seymour's party. A 
melancholy slaughter of the garrison took place, few of whom 
asked or received quarter. About one hundred and seventy-five 
were taken prisoners. The last obstacle to the final assault upon 
he capital had been removed. 

/ Two great roads lead from Chapultepec to the western entrances 
t f Mexico— the San Cosme causeway, terminating in the San Coj^iiis 



ATTACK UPON THE CITY. 



587 




GKNEBAL PERSIFOR F. SMITH. 



gtite ; and the Belen causeway, in the Belen gate. Immediately 
after the reduction of the castle, General Scott mounted to its top, 
and ordered Worth, with his two brigades, assisted by Cadwalader's, 
to advance along the San Cosme road, storm the gate, and enter the 
city; while General duitman conducted a feint upon the Belen 
entrance. Both these causeways were defended by batteries poste<i 
at well-chosen distances, and completely sweeping the road. Besid«"S 
these, sharp-shooters were posted at small intervals, numerous ditches 
were cut across the road, at right angles with an aqueduct, which 
extended along its whole course, and every other obstacle thrown in 
the Americans' path. 

Immediately after the capture of the castle. Worth, with but one 
brigade, had begun his march towards the San Cosme gate, on ap- 
proaching which he found a large body of Mexicans posted behind 
ditches and in houses. They at once opened a heavy fire of mus- 
ketry. Cadwalader's brigade having now arrived, his howitzers 



588 



CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL SCOTT. 




GBNBRAL WORTH. 



were thrown forward, together with a party of skirmishers and pioneers, 
I who speedily opened a way into the neighbouring buildings, driving out 
or capturing the enemy, and advancing under cover towards the city. 
, In this manner, though exposed to tremendous fires, the division 
1 fought its way up lo the gate, where, after a most obstinate struggle, 
I the enemy's main fort was carried, and the assailants entered the 
I city. At eight, p. m., Worth halted, posted sentinels, and ordered 
his men into quarters, determining to renew the assault on the 
1 morrow. 

I Meanwhile Quitman had been pressing along the Belen causeway 
i with such ardour as to convert his feint attack into a real one. During 
i this advance he was exposed to one of the most tremendous fires ever 
sustained by an American army; but, notwithstanding the reiterated 
commands of the general-in-chief to return, his troops poured on. 
springing from arch to arch between the enemy's volleys, and cap 



I 

i 



ENTRANCE INTO MEXICO. 



luring one battery after another until they arrived at the Belen gaTe. 
At this formidable post a sanguinary conflict took place, in which the 
garrison were defeated, and the Americans rushed with loud shouts 
into the city. But directly in their front glared another battery 
flanked on each side by cross-fires, which soon compelled the assail- 
ants to take refuge in the adjacent houses. Here the fight raged 
with fearful violence until night, when the Americans were ordered 
under shelter, and slept upon their arms. Many valuable lives, 
including those of Captain Drum and Lieutenant Benjamin, were 
lost during this assault. 

Having thus secured a foothold within the capital, Genera] Scott 
determined to carry it by storm on the following morning. But at 
four o'clock, A. M., of the 14th, he was waited upon by a deputation 
from the authorities, requesting him to sign a capitulation in favoui 
of the citizens, churches, and municipality. The general replied that 
he would agree upon no such terms ; but that the city being at his 
mercy, he possessed and would exercise the right of dictating what, 
in his judgment, would be considered best. It was soon discovered 
that Santa Anna and the army had evacuated the city. The Ameri- 
can commander then declared that he would levy a contribution upon 
the citizens for the expenses of the army, but that the personal rights 
of all should be religiously observed. Orders were then issued to 
General Quitman to advance towards the Grand Plaza, and to Gene- 
ral Worth to move as far as the Alameda, a green park some distance 
from the San Cosme gate. These movements were executed with 
alacrity. About eight o'clock, General Scott, with a brilliant staff, 
entered the city, in lull uniform and accompanied by the remainder 
of the army. His arrival at the Grand Plaza was hailed by bursts 
of national music and the reiterated cheers of the soldiers, in which 
many of the Mexicans are said to have joined. 

Scarcely had the excitement of this scene subsided, and the Ame- 
ricans begun to disperse, when a scattering fire was opened upon the 
army by several thousand convicts and others, many of whom had 
been turned from prison by the flying government for this very pur- 
pose. Vigorous efforts were immediately made by General Scott and 
the authorities for the suppression of these outrages; but this was 
not accomphshed until many valuable lives had been lust, and parties 
despatched in all directions to blow up all houses from which shois 
^'ould be fired. 

Thus was the famed capital of tne Montezumas taken by a h*indluJ 



590 



CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL SCOTT. 



of men, so small as to startle him who attempts comparison with tho 
enemy. The history of modern days has rarely narrated feats equaj 
to those of this little army and their intrepid g'.meral. The number 
that marched from Puebla on the 7th of Augus* 's stated by the com- 
mander at ten thousand seven hundred and thirty-eight raLk and 
file. At Contreras and Churubusco, only eight thousand five hun- 
dred were engaged with thirty thousand ; at Molino del Rey, thirty- 
two hundred and fifty were in the battle; while Chapultepec and 
the capital were taken by less than six thousand. The total loss in 
these battles was two thousand seven hundred and three, of whom three 
hundred and eighty-three were officers. *' This small force," says 
the commander, in his official despatch to government, "has beaten 
on the same occasions, in view of the capital, the whole Mexican 
army of (at the beginning) thirty odd thousand men — posted always 
in chosen positions, behind intrenchments, or more formidable de- 
fences of nature and art ; killed or wounded of that number more 
than seven thousand officers and men ; taken three thousand seven 
hundred and thirty prisoners, one-seventh officers, including thirteen 
generals, of whom three had been presidents of this republic; cap- 
tured more than twenty colours and standards, seventy-five pieces 
of ordnance, besides fifty-seven wall pieces, twenty thousand small 
arms, an immense quantity of shot, shells, powder, &c. 

" Of that enemy once so formidable in numbers, appointments, 
artillery, &c., twenty odd thousand men have disbanded themselves 
in despair, leaving, as is known, not more than three fragments,— 
the largest about two thousand five hundred, — now wandering in 
different directions, without magazines or a military chest, and hving 
at free quarters upon their own people." 

But the capture of the capital was not the actual close of the war. 
The Mexicans still persisted with astonishing fortitude in bearing 
up against their loss, and using every means to drive out the inva- 
ders. On the 13th of September, the garrison of Puebla, numbering 
about four hundred men, under Colonel Childs, were attacked by a 
large force of armed citizens, rancheros,'and soldiers ; and a bombard- 
ment was sustained until the 22d, when Santa Anna arrived with 
large reinforcements from the capital. Great preparations were then 
made for assaulting the garrison, which had retired to the posts of 
San Jose, Loreto, and Guadalupe. On the 25th, Childs was sum- 
moned to surrender, but refused ; upon which the Mexican batteries 
were opened with increased violence upon San Jose, which now 



DEFENCE OE PUEBLA. 



591 




oecame the principal point of attack. This severe cannonade was 
neroicaliy sustained by the garrison, who, notwithstanding the small 
ness of their number, worked incessantly both in defending and 
strengthening their position. "A shower of bullets," writes the 
colonel, " was constantly poured from the streets, the balconies, the 
housetops and churches, upon their devoted heads. Never did troops 
endure more fatigue by watching night after night — nor exhibit more 
patience, spirit, or gallantry. Not a post of danger could present 
itself, but the gallant fellows were ready to fill it. Not a sentinel 
could be shot, but another was anxious and ready to take his place. 
Officers and soldiers vied with each other to be honoured martyrs 
in their country's cause." 

On the 30th, Santa Anna received information that General Lane, 
having marched from Vera Ciuz with a considerable force, was ad 



592 



CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL bCOTT. 



vancmg rapidly to the relief of the garrison. He therefqie marched 
with three thousand men to meet him. Taking advantage of this 
reduction of the besiegers' numbers, ColoneJ Childs resolved on a 
sortie from the works against some houses and barricades, vi^hose fire 
had been extremely annoying. This was conducted by Captain 
Small and Lieutenant Morgan, who drove away the enemy with grea*. 
loss, killing seventeen, and burning one hundred and fifty cotton 
bales, of which the work was composed. The bombardment con- 
tinued until the 10th of October, when General Lane arrived with 
reinforcements, and the enemy retired. The siege had lasted forty 
days. 

General Lane had encountered the Mexican forces on the road 
from Vera Cruz. At the hacienda of Santa Anna he dispersed a 
party of guerillas, and another at the Paso de Ovejas. On approach- 
ing the town of Huamantla, he learned that a large force was there col- 
lected, with six pieces of artillery. At one o'clock the advance came 
in sight of the town, and wf halted ; while Captain Walker, with 
his mounted men, were ordered to gallop forward and enter, should 
his force be sufficient. He found a party of the Mexicans drawn up 
in the plaza, with several pieces of cannon. Charging vigorously, 
he drove off the enemy after a severe struggle, and captured the 
pieces. In the subsequent pursuit. Major Iturbide, son of the Mexi- 
can emperor, was captured. Unfortunately, the Americans now dis- 
mounted, and scattered themselves around the square. Here they 
were unexpectedly charged by a body of lancers, and saved from de- 
feat only by the skilful manoeuvring of their captain. Immediately 
after, the Americans entered the convent yard, where another action 
ensued, during which the gallant Walker was mortally wounded. 
When his death was announced, the soldiers burst into tears, and 
charged the lancers with such fury as to drive them from the ground. 
Soon after, the American main body arrived, and completed the roui 
of the Mexicans. The latter lost one hundred and fifty men ; the 
Americans thirteen killed, eleven wounded. 

Lane remained at Puebla until the 18th of October, when he was 
informed that a body of the enemy, under General Rea, was at 
Atlixco, thirty miles distant. On the following morning, at eleven 
o'clock, he set out for that place ; and, after a forced march of five 
hours' duration, came in sight of the enemy's advance at Santa Isa- 
bella. The cavalry were thrown forward to charge, when the Mexi- 
cans fell back to a small hill, and fought with great resolution until 



NEGOTIATIOJ^S FOR PEACE. 



593 



ihe arrival of the American infantry, when they broke and fled A 
running fight over several miles ensued, until the Mexican main 
army was observed posted on a side hill, behind rows of chaparral 
fences. The cavalry again charged, and a close conflict ensued, 
which was again terminated by the arrival of the American infantry 
and artillery. The retreating mass was pursued to the city, when, 
night having arrived. Lane halted his troops, and prepared for a 
bombardment. This was conducted by the bright light of a full 
moon for about an hour, with great destruction of life and property 
to the town. It was then surrendered by the city council. The 
American loss was one killed, one wounded ; that of the enemy more 
than five hundred. After destroying or appropriating such arms 
and ammunition as could be found, Lane returned on the following 
day to Puebla. 

On the 15lh of October, Captain Lavalette, with three vessels 
entered the port of Guymas, and summoned the town to surrender 
This being refused, a bombardment was commenced on the 20th, 
.which, after continuing more than an hour, with much loss of pro 
perty, brought the inhabitants to terms. Lavalette then issued a 
proclamation claiming the post and town for the United States, and 
establishing over it a territorial government. The port of Mazatlan 
was captured by another portion of the squadron about the same 
time. Not long after. General Lane captured the town of Matamora. 
At this period of the war the various guerilla bands had become 
exceedingly troublesome, frequently cutting off all communication 
between different portions of the army, and sometimes capturing 
portions of the specie and ammunition trains. 

In November occurred the unfortunate difficulties between General 
Scott and his officers, which submitted the conduct of several to a 
military investigation, and caused the main command to devolve upon 
General Butler. 

Previous to the recall of General Scott he had laid before the 
Mexican authorities [January, 1848] the basis of a treaty, by which 
he hoped to restore peace to the two countries. They appointed 
Lewis G. Cuevas, Bernardo Conto, and Miguel Atristain, commis- 
sioners, to confer with Mr. Trist, the American envoy, at Guadalupe 
Hidalgo. After a somewhat tedious negotiation, these gentlemen 
signed a treaty of " peace, friendship, limits, and settlement," be- 
tween the United States of America and the Mexican republic. On 
the 10th of March it was passed, with some few alterations, by i^e 

75 3D2 



594 



ADMINISTEATION OF JAMES K. POLK. 



United States Senate, signed by President Polk, and transmitted 
through Mr. Sevier to the Mexican Congress, then assembled ai 
Queretaro. That body agreed to the alterations on the 25th of 
May ; and thus, after a duration of two years, the war, of which 
both nations were heartily tired, was terminated. The treaty ac 
knowledges the Rio Grande as the boundary of Texas, secures to 
the Americans the fine harbour of San Francisco, with the gulf 
trade, together with the territories of New Mexico and Upper Cali- 
fornia, for the sum of fifteen millions of dollars. News of peace 
was received in the city of Mexico, and other places, with the ring- 
ing of bells, the firing of cannon, and other demonstrations of joy. 
The remainder of the month, with part of June, was occupied by 
the American commander in removing the troops and national stores 
from Mexico to the United States. Before the close of the lattei 
month, the Mexican territors^ had been entirely evacuated by its 
former conquerors. 

RE events of the Mexican war led the way to a 
■^^rl^vjlf^^l^^^jilij political revolution at home. In relation to military 
Ft* ^li^^-ii's in Mexico, the course pursued by the ad- 
ministration, whether judicious or not, was severely 
criticised by some of their political adversaries. 
The government was even said to be jealous of the 
rising popularity of those great leaders, Generals Taylor and 
Scott, and was accused of playing with the former the part of 
David in the case of Uriah, in depriving him of his forces, 
when Santa Anna was advancing upon him with twenty 
thousand men, and thus leaving him exposed to almost certain de- 
struction. This accusation is too absurd to merit a serious refuta- 
tion. The anxiety of the country for the safety of the brave old 
man and his little band of heroes was, however, intense ; and, from 
day to day, the most melancholy tidings were expected. What, 
then, is the effect when the first intelligence of the glorious victory 
of Buena Vista arrives in the United States ? The whole country 
is perfectly electrified. If the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de 
la Palma, and the capture of ^Monterey, were sufficient to establish 
his reputation, what wonder that the people should now almost adore 
the man who, with means so slender, could accomplish results so 
wonderful! "No other general," it was repeated, "would have 
dared to fight the battle, and no other could have won it." General 
Taylor was firmly seated in the affections of the American people, 




ADMESriSTKATION OF JAMES K. POLK. 



595 




and enjoyed a popularity little, if at all inferior to that of General 
Jackson. 

N the 7th of June, 1848, while the country was 
still ringing with the fame of Taylor's victories, a 
Whig National Convention was' held at Philadel- 
phia, to nominate candidates for the Presidency 
and Vice-Presidency. The principal names were 
those of General Taylor, General Scott, and Henry 
(Clay, of Kentucky. On the evening of the 6th, a Taylor 
meeting was held in Independence-square, and attended by 
nearly fifteen thousand people. Many of the delegates to the 
National Convention had already arrived, and were present 
at this immense gathering. 'The Conve*ntion met next morning, 
and, after a severe struggle, nominated General Taylor for the 
Presidency, and Millard Fillmore, of New York, for the Vice-Presi- 
dency. The nomination was a wise one, and was made at a fortu- 
nate moment. The superior availability of a successful military 
leader, even long after his most brilliant exploits, had been suffi- 
ciently proved in the election of General Jackson, and in that of 
General Harrison. In the present instance, the whigs were fur- 
nished with a military chief, and with a popular excitement ready- 
made to their hands. The democrats had held their National Con- 
vention on the 21st of May, at Baltimore, the result being the nom- 
mation of Lewis Cass, of Michigan, for the Presidency, and General 
W. 0. Butler, of Kentucky, for the Vice-Presidency. In this con- 
vention two sets of delegates from two separate conventions in the 
State of New York claimed seats, and were both admitted. This 
displeased both parties, and they withdrew, leaving the important 
State of New York unrepresented. The friends of Mr. Van Buren 
m that State, claiming that the action of the convention was not 
binding upon them, assembled at Utica, and nominated him for the 
Presidency. This led to his renomination by the Free-Soil National 
Convention at Buffalo soon after, when his name was formally as- 
sociated with that of Charles F. Adams, of Massachusetts. 

But nothing could withstand the enthusiasm ot the people for the 
heroic Taylor. It might have been said that it was uncertain 
whether the General was a whig or not, that the war was unpopular, 
and that Mr. Clay could not, without the rankest ingratitude, be de- 
prived of the benefit of the powerful reaction in favour of whig prin- 
ciples — prmciples which he had long defended with so much firm- 



596 



ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES K. POLK. 



ness and ability. Yet, if any of the whigs desired to retrace their 
steps, it was found to be too late. They could not allay the excite- 
ment which they had so easily originated. In this party struggle, 
however, the intemperate enthusiasm of some former political cam- 
paigns was not manifested. The election in November decided the 
contest in favour of the whigs. On the 14th of February, 1849, the 
votes of the electoral colleges were counted, when it appeared that 
the w^hole number was two hundred and ninety ; of which one hun- 
dred and sixty-three were for Taylor and Fillmore, and one hundred 
and twenty-seven for Cass and Butler. 

R. POLK'S message to the last Congress which 
convened under his administration, is a most ele- 
gant and masterly document. We quote from it 
■he foUowmg interesting passage in relation to the 
Mexican war: 

One of the most important results of the war mtc 
which we were recently forced with a neighbouring nation, is 
the demonstration it has afforded of the military strength oi 
our country. Before the late war with Mexico, European 
and other foreign pow' rs entertained imperfect and erroneous 
views of our physical strength as" a nation, and of our ability to pro- 
secute war, and especially a war waged out of our own country 
They saw that our standing army on the peace establishment did 
not exceed ten thousand men. Accustomed themselves to maintain 
in peace large standing armies for the protection of thrones against 
their own subjects, as well as against foreign enemies, they had not 
conceived that it was possible, without such an army, well disci- 
plined, and of long service, to wage war successfully." Again he 
says • " Our citizen-soldiers are unlike those drawn from the popu- 
lation of any other country. They are composed indiscriminately 
of all professions and pursuits ; of farmers, lawyers, physicians, 
merchants, manufacturers, mechanics, and labourers ; and this, not 
only among the officers, but the private soldiers in the ranks. Our 
citizen-soldiers are unlike those of any other country in other re- 
fipects. They are armed, and have been accustomed from their 
youth up to handle and use fire-arms ; and a large proportion of 
them, especially in the western and newly-settled States, are expert 
marksmen. They are men who have a reputation to maintain at 
home by their good conduct in the field. They are intelligent, and 
thfcie is individuulity of chsiractor -"^^hlch is fn\ini li the ra'iks o 




ADMINISTEATION OF JAMES K. POLK. 



597 



no other army. In battle, each private man, as well as every officer, 
fights not only for his country, but for glory and distinction among 
his fellow-citizens when he shall return to civil life." 
fg^-T^KQ^ HE 30th Congress closed its session on the 4th of 




III March. A new and important department, called 
^ the Home Department, had been created, assuming 
fff certain branches of business formerly belonging to 
9 the State and Treasury Departments, and thus 



greatly relieving the officers at the head of these 
departments. California, up to this time, had not been fur- 
nished with a provisional government. The Territory of 
fjjk Minnesota, formed from portions of Iowa and Wisconsin, 
claiming that it was entitled to be regarded as the Territory of 
Wisconsin, proceeded, after the admission of the latter to the Union, 
to elect a delegate (Hon. H. H. Sibley) to represent them in Con- 
gress. He was permitted to take his seat, and before the close of 
the session of 1848-9, a bill was passed establishing the territorial 
government of Minnesota, and defining the -jundaries of the Terri- 
tory. Hon. Alexander Ramsay was appoij^.ted Governor of the 
Territory, and the first assembly met in the fall of 1849. The prin- 
cipal settlements in Minnesota are St. Pauls St. Anthony, Still- 
water, and Mendota. In 1850, the territory contained a population 
of 6,011, and an area of 83,000 square miles. 

The Presidential term of James K. Polk expired on the 3d o* 
March. Mr. Polk's private character was unexceptionable. Cal- 
umny never even attempted to tarnish his spotless reputation. 
Though somewhat reserved, his manners were plain and unsophis 
ticated. Soon after his arrival at Nashville, he removed with his 
family to his new and elegant mansion at Grundy's Hill, in the very 
heart of that beautiful city. Here he employed himself in improv- 
ing and embellishing his house and grounds, assisted by Mrs. Polk, 
upon whose exquisite taste in such matters he greatly relied. He 
was in the prime of life, had occupied various public stations, and 
had just retired from the highest office in the gift of his fellow- 
ciiizens — the highest office in the world. In June, the unexpected 
tidings of his death were spread through the country. While on 
his way from New Orleans to Nashville, in March, 1849, he was 
attacked with diarrhoea, from which, however, he shortly recovered. 
About the 1 st of June, he had a slight attack of fever, ptoduced hy 
jver-exertio:i in arranging the books ki^ library This was soot 
38 



598 



ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES K. POLK. 



attend' d with diarrhoea, which with him had been a chronic disease 
for many years. For several days no danger was apprehended ; 
but the disorder soon assumed a more threatening aspect, and on 
the loth of June, in spite of the skill and vigilance of his physicians, 
terminated in death. In his last hours, he professed his faith in the 
gospel, and received the rite of baptism at the hands of Rev. Mr 
McFarren, of the Methodist denomination. 

HATEVER may be the merit of this adminis- 
tration, it cannot be denied that it was conducted 
with great ability, and secured to the United 
States those territorial accessions whose value 
can hardly be overrated even by the wildest 
imagination. Who can tell the influence which 





the discovery of the golden regions of California must exert 
upon the prosperity of our republic, and, we might almost 
say, upon the destiny of the world itself? It will aid greatly 
^ in securing a solid basis for the currency of the country. 
The richest mines in the world, those of California and Australia, 
have, almost at the same time, come under the control of its twc 
most powerful nations — a coincidence which serves to maintain a 
balance or equality of wealth and power between those nations, thus 
affording additional security for the peace and harmony of both. A 
brief description of the newly-acquired territories will, we trust, 
prove acceptable to our readers. An account of the discovery o\ 
California, and a sketch of its early history, have already been given 
in a former part of this work. [See p. 112.] 

Upper or New Cahfornia is bounded on the north by the 42d par- 
allel of latitude, which divides it from Oregon ; on the east, by the 
Sierra Anahuac and the Sierra de los Mimbres, continuations of the 
Rocky Mountains ; on the south, by Old or Lower California and 
Sonora ; and on the west, by the Pacific Ocean. Its extent from 
north to south is about 700 miles, and from east to west from 500 to 
800 miles, its area being about 400,000 square miles. About 150 
miles from the coast, and running nearly parallel with it, is the 
Sierra Nevada, a range of mountains higher than the Rocky Moun- 
tains. Their more elevated peaks are white with perpetual snow. 
Between these and the ocean, and about fifty miles from the coast, 
Is another parallel range, called the Coast Range. The valley be- 
tween them is the most fertile portion of the country. Between the 
Sierra Nevada and the eastern boundary of the whole region, lies the 



CALIFORNIA. 



599 



(rjeo-t Basin, five hundred miles in diameter, four or five thousand 
leet above the ocean, having the general character of a desert, and 
enclosed on all sides by mountains. The Maritime Region, west Oi 
the Sierra Nevada, is, according to Colonel Fremont, the only part 
to which the name California applies, in the current language of the 
country. *' It is the occupied and inhabited part, and so different 
in character — so divided by the mountain wall of the Sierra from 
the Great Basin above — as to constitute a region to itself, with a 
structure, configuration, soil, climate, and productions of its own." 
Looking westward fr(»m the summit of the Sierra, we behold the 
long, low valley of the Joaquin and Sacramento rivers — a valley 
lying along the base of the Sierra, and bounded on the west by the 
low coast range of mountains which separate it from the sea. The 
valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin form one valley, but 
each is named from the river which traverses it. The Sacramento 
traverses the northern, and the San Joaquin the southern valley. 
They unite at their entrance into the Suisun, or upper Bay of San 
Francisco, within the limits of tide water, and make, as a late ex- 
cellent writer remarks, " a continuous water line" from one end of 
the great valley to the other. The valley of the Sacramento is 
divided into upper and lower, the former being farther up the river, 
and some thousands of feet higher, than the latter. The upper is 
about one hundred miles in length, the lower about two hundred. 
The former is heavily timbered, and its climate and productions 
correspond to its elevation. The valley of the San Joaquin is, in 
general, but a few hundred feet above the sea. The Sacramento 
river is navigable to the rapids, two hundred miles from its mouth. 

AN Francisco Bay has been celebrated ever since 
its discovery as one of the best harbours in the world. 
It is separated from the sea by low ranges of moun- 
tains, through which is a single entrance, resem- 
bling a mountain pass. It is seventy-five miles in 
length from north to south, or about thirty-seven on 
each side of the entrance. The head of the bay is about 
forty miles from the entrance. By projecting points, it is 
subdivided into three bays, of which the northern two are 
called the San Pablo and Suisun Bays, The water in the 
bay is sufficiently deep for the largest ships ; and here, perhaps, all 
t^he vessels of the world might ride in safety. 

There are numerous small lakes in California. Lake Buen" 

76 




600 



CALIFORNIA. 



Vista, one of the sources of the San Joaquin, is about eight)^ milea 
in length and fifteen in breadth. About sixty miles north of the 
Bay of San Francisco, is a lake called by the Californians the La- 
guna. It is about fifty miles in length. The valleys in its vicinity 
are highly fertile, romantic, and beautiful. Near this lake is a 
mountain of pure sulphur. 

^^f^V^g. j^OTiORADO. or Red River, is the largest river of 
fiS^^^Pi'^l^ Upper California. Running nearly 1,000 miles, 
^^^^ f^or the most part between the south and southwest, 
;^^^nS|bhffl it empties .nto :he Gulf of California, in latitude 
(^^^^^^"**^ about 32° north. It has several large tributaries, 
^^w^ the largest and lowest of which — the Gila — enters it from 
^:^^^R5^the northeast, a little above its mouth. Little is known of 
5^p,5V the region through which the Colorado flows. From the 
^1^^ reports of trappers, it would seem that the river, through a 
Jp^ large portion of its course, is hemmed in by high mountains 
and precipices, and that the adjacent country is arid, sandy, 
and barren. 

The most interesting section of California is the valley of the 
Sacramento — a tract already celebrated throughout the world for its 
placers, or deposits of gold. Sutter's Fort, in the vicinity of which, 
we believe, the first known discoveries of the precious metal were 
made, is about forty miles up the Sacramento. The gold region 
lies along the foot hills of the Sierra Nevada, and reaches upon 
these hills about five hundred miles in length, and thirty or forty in 
breadth. The streams which flow from the Sierra into the San 
Joaquin and Sacramento rivers, are from ten to thirty miles distant 
from each other. They have many tributaries, are wild and rapid 
in their descent from the mountains, but become more tranquil upon 
entering the plains below. To the banks and bars of these moun- 
tain streams, and the channels of the gorges which intersect them, 
and through which the streams are forced when swollen by the 
winter rains, the alluvial deposits of the metal are chiefly confined. 
This, according to Mr. Colton, seems to be a general law with re- 
gard to these deposits in California. We are not aware that any 
geological theory has been, or can be, of any service to the gold 
hunter. In the opinion of the writer just mentioned, the only law 
of any value in reference to alluvial deposits, are the one just men- 
tioned, and the law, that a heavy body will tumble down hill faster 
ihan a lighter one, or that a nut shaken from a tree will drop through 



CALIFOENIA. 



601 




the fog to the ground. The surface-gold of California will probably 
never be wholly exhausted. Will the gold-bearing quartz rocks 
fail to yield the precious ore ? This is the great question which 
time alone can fully solve. It is the opinion of some eminent men 
that gold-bearing quartz occupies a broad vein through the whole 
extent of the foot range of the Sierra. Gold, in the shape of small, 
delicate scales, is sometimes found in the slate rocks. One lump 
of gold, perhaps the largest ever found in California, weighed 
twenty-three pounds, was nearly pure, and of a cubical figure. 

UICK SILVER is one of the most important min- 
eral products of this wonderful countrv*. Several 
localities are already known ; but the richest is 
Forbes's mine, about sixty miles from San Jose 
At this mine, with a few" labourers, and two com 
^.^^^^^ mon iron kettles for smelting, they have already 
sold quicksilver to a very large amount, and had, not long 
since, two hundred tons of ore awaiting the smelting process. 
The effect of these rich mines of quicksilver upon the 
wealth and commerce of the world, if kept from the hands 
of monopolists, can hardly be overrated. Mines of silver, also, are 
known to exist in the mountains of the gold region. 

The climate of the coast is unpleasant, at least, if not unhealthy. 
The seasons are variable. The usual period of rain is from November 
to April inclusive ; but in some years it is very abundant, while in 
others it is very sparing, and several consecutive years sometimes 
pass away with scarcely any rain. The southern coast of Upper 
California is hot and dry, except for a short time in the winter. 
The length of the wet season increases as we proceed northward ; 
and, about the Bay of San Francisco, the rains are nearly constant 
from November to April, and fogs and heavy dews moisten the 
earth and nourish vegetation for the rest of the year. California is 
subject to long droughts, two years often bringing scarcely any 
rain ; yet vegetation does not suffer so greatly as might be expected, 
because it is sustained by the fogs of the latter part of the night, 
and because the numerous mountain streamlets afford the means ol 
natural and artificial irrigation. But glittering sands and glowing 
mines are not the only gifts which Nature has lavished upon this 
delightful land. Yet her sparkling streams and verdant vales, hei 
golden grain waving to the zephyrs, her blushing fruits and beauti- 
ful flowers, had little or no charms for the great world, until sh** 

76 8 E 



602 CALIFORNIA. 

appeared arrayed in a gilded robe — but, then, what a change ! 
Emigrants rush from every civilized nation upon earth. Fifty 
thousand eager hunters for gold, of every hue and language, soon 
cover the slopes of the great Sierra. Even the inhabitant of the 
Celestial Empire, where emigration has been a crime, has found 
his way thither. Neither distance, nor the dangers of the deep, nor 
the diseases of tropical climates, nor even the infirmities of age, re- 
strain the sordid, or the needyj cr the ambitious adventurer from the 
dazzling but doubtful enterprise. What wonder that these emi- 
grants should soon, like the people of Romulus, find themselves a 
nation of men alone ? When disease shows its pale face, it must 
not be relieved by the tenderness and soothing care of woman. 
The home of the heart, which she alone can make — the home 
where fall the heavenly dews of sympathy, is not there. Many 
evils, too, were incident upon the great diversity of character among 
the emigrants, especially before any regular government had been 
organized in the territory. But these evils are gradually diminish- 
ing, and, ere long, will probably disappear for ever. Thousands, 
every month, are passing to and from California. Her growth 
seems the work of enchantment ; yet her government and institu- 
tions are fast settling down to an orderly and permanent condition. 
The population of California in 1850 is supposed to have been 
180,000. Flourishing towns and cities spring up as if by magic. 
Such are Benicia, Sacramento City, Sutter, "Vernon, Boston, New 
York, Stockton, Alvezo, Stanislaus, Sonora, and Crescent City, some 
of which already give promise of future greatness. San Francisco 
has suffered greatly from fires. That 5f the 3d of May, 1850, was 
peculiarly terrific and destructive. Originating in the careless act 
of an individual in a paint shop, it did not cease until the city was 
almost wholly laid in ashes. Its progress was most appalling. The 
finest hotels, the most substantial warehouses, the theatre, the 
museum, and every newspaper establishment but one fall a prey to 
the devouring element. Every countenance is the picture of horror. 
Thousands are turned into the streets almost without notice, and 
without saving even a suit of clothes. Houses of wood vanish like 
frostwork, those of brick are " batteries of flame," pouring forth 
" immense jets from their windows and doors," while " iron and zinc 
curl up like the scorched leaves of the forest." The loss of pro- 
perty is estimated at from ten to fifteen millions of dollars. Ten or 



CALIFOENIA. 



603 




twelve lives were lost, and about tw^enty persons injured, some of 
til em verv severely. 

UT such is the energy of its inhabitants that, 
almost before the smoke of the ruins has cleared 
iway, the wonderful city begins to rise like a 
phoenix. Ere long, scarcely a trace of the destruc- 
tion remains, and prosperity again smiles in San 
i^'raiicisco — the city destined, in spite of competition, wind, 
and flame, to be the great commercial emporium of Cali- 
fornia. 

A San Francisco journal, of March 5, 1850, speaks of the 
terrible increase of crime, of all degrees, from petty theft to 
murder, and the pretty general belief that the laws, as they had 
been administered, would afford but little security to life and pro- 
perry. The people, therefore, had arisen in various parts of the 
State, and constituted a new court, for the immediate trial of 
oflenders. In Sacramento, an inoffensive man, for endeavouring to 
separate two combatants, was shot down in the midst of a crowd. 
The people at once avenged the deed by constituting a court of their 
own, trying the murderer, and hanging him. " Lynch law," says 
the journal above mentioned, " is not the best law that might be, but 
it is better than none ; and so far as benefit is derived from law, 
there is no other here." On the 10th of June, 1851, a similar ex- 
hibition of popular vengeance was witnessed at San Francisco. 
The city had long been infested with numerous desperadoes, banded 
together, in many instances, for the prosecution of their criminal 
designs. It was very difficult to detect them, and, even when they 
were discovered, next to impossible to secure their conviction and 
adequate punishment. In this state of things, many of the leading 
citizens had formed themselves into a detective and protective force, 
and maintained a regular organization as such. On the night in 
question, John Jenkins, said to be a native of London, was caught 
in the commission of a heavy robbery. He was at once arraigned 
before the committee alluded to, tried, convicted, and sentenced to 
be hung. The sentence was executed the same nighty in the pres- 
ence of an excited multitude of citizens ; and the rising sun shone 
upon the dead body of the robber dangling from the corner of a 
buildii.g on the public square. We have already remarked, in sub- 
s-tance, that a better state of things now prevails in California 



604 



CALIFORNIA. 



ACRAMENTO City has been once inundated by 
the Rio Americana. " It came," says Mr. Colton, 
" upon the inhabitants like a thief in the night ; they 
had only time to jump from their beds ; the roaring 
flood was at their heels : some reached the shipping, 
and some sprung into the tops of the trees." A levee 
ce been built to exclude the water from the city. 
I regard to the extent of the newly-acquired territo- 
may be remarked that Oregon, California, New 

>, and Texas, constitute a territory more than half as 

large as that owned by the United States previous to their acquisi 
tion. These four tracts contain 763,559,040 acres; the other States 
and territories contain 1,318,126,058 acres. The territory of our 
republic is now nearly as large as the whole of Europe. The Mis- 
sissippi, so lately its frontier, is now its great central river. No 
one, we think, will dispute the assertion of Mi. Polk, that the ac- 
quisition of California and New Mexico, the settlement of the Oregon 
boundary, and the annexation of Texas, extending to the Rio 
Grande, are results which, combined, are of greater consequence, 
and will add more to the strength and wealth of the nation, than 
any which have preceded them since the adoption of the Con- 
stitution. 




CHAPTER LIIL 




ADMINISTRATION OF TAYLOR. 

HE inauguration of General Taylor would have 
taken place on the 4th of March as usual, but as 
that day was the Sabbath, it was deferred until the 
5th, when the new administration was organized 
with highly impressive ceremonies. The Senate 
was convened at eleven o'clock ; and its future 
presiding officer, Mr. Fillmore, delivered a brief address, from 
which we extract the following interesting passages : 

" It will not, I trust, be deemed inappropriate to congratu- 
late you upon the scene now passing before us. I allude to 
it in no partisan aspect, but as an ever-recurring event contemplated 
by the Constitution. Compare the peaceful changes of chief mag- 
istrates of this republic with the recent sanguinary revolutions in 
Europe. There, the voice of the people has been heard only amid 
the din of arms and the horrors of domestic conflict ; but here, in 
our own favoured land, under the guidance of our Constitution, the 
resistless will of the nation has, from time to time, been peacefully 
expressed by the free suffrages of the people, and all have bowed hi 
obedient submission to their decree. The administration which but 
yesterday wielded the destinies of this great nation, to-day quietly 
yields up its power, and, without a murmur, retires from ihe capitol. 

" I congratulate you, Senators, and I congratulate my country, 
upon these oft-recurring and cheering evidences of our capacity for 

8e2 605 



ADMINISTRATION OF TAYLOR. 




self-government. Let us hope that the sublime spectacle which 
now witness may be repeated as often as the people shall desire a 
change of rulers, and that this venerated Constitution and this glorious 
Union may endure forever." 

FTER the president elect, with the ex-president, 
and committee of arrangements, had entered the 
senate-chamber, a procession was formed, and, pas- 
sing through the rotunda, arrived at the eastern por- 
tico of the capitol. Upon a staging above the stairs 
of the portico, and in presence of at least twenty 
thousand people, General Taylor delivered, with a remarka- 
bly distinct utterance, and with full and clear emphasis, his 
admirable inaugural address — a plain, sensible, well-written 
document, which, for its brevity and elegance, is a model 
worthy of all future imitation. In the discharge of his 
manifold duties, he said that his guide would be the Constitu- 
tion, for the interpretation of which he should look to the decisions 
of judicial tribunals established by its authority, and to the practice 
of the government under the earlier presidents, who had so large a 
share in its formation. He regarded himself as chosen by the peo- 
ple, under the assurance that his administration would be devoted to 
the welfare of the whole country, and not to the support of particular 
sections, or merely local interests. He should recommend to Con- 
gress such constitutional measures as might be proper for the pro- 
tection of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, the improvement 
of rivers and harbours, the speedy extinction of the public debt, the 
maintenance of strict accountability on the part of all the officers of 
the government, and the observance of the utmost economy in all 
public expenditures. 

" In conclusion," says General Taylor, " I congratulate you, my 
fellow-citizens, upon the high state of prosperity to which the good- 
ness of Divine Providence has conducted our common country. Let 
us invoke a continuance of the same protecting care which has led 
us from small beginnings to the eminence we this day occupy, and 
let us seek to deserve it by prudence and moderation in our councils ; 
by well-directed attempts to assuage the bitterness which too often 
marks unavoidable differences of opinion ; by the promulgation and 
practice just and liberal principles ; and by enlarged patriotism 
which shall acknowledge no limits but those of our own wide-spread 
lepublic." 



ADMINISTRATION OF TAYLOR. 



6U7 



fgjS^r^^N^JT ^^^^ office was next administered by Chief 
'^MwM^mji^m Justice Taney. At the close of the inaugural cere 
jfe i^^^Si^ monies, the roar of artillery resounded from one 
ffllc* X^/^^^'i' end of the city to the other. The Senate had been 
rfwlV^^^^S^ summoned by Mr. Polk to meet upon that day, and 
aid in the organization of the new government. On 
I'll ( Taylor submitted his nominations for members 

fl§L^ of the Cabinet, and his nominations were duly confirmed, viz., 
John M. Clayton, of Delaware, Secretary of State ; William 
^ M. Meredith, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Treasury , 
Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, Secretary of the Home Department ; 
George W. Crawford, of Georgia, Secretary of War ; William B. 
Preston, of Virginia, Secretary of the Navy ; Reverdy Johnson, of 
Maryland, Attorney General ; and Jacob Collamer, of Vermont, 
Postmaster General. The removals from office were fewer than 
under some former Presidents, the old General being resolutely op- 
posed to such removals, when designed merely as proscriptions — thus 
taking a position with which some of his former supporters were 
very much dissatisfied. 

One of the important diplomatic acts of General Taylor's adminis- 
tration, was the negotiation of a treaty with Great Britain for the 
construction of a ship canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 
Its perpetual freedom is guaranteed to all nations upon just and equal 
terms. This measure is one of the most important steps taken in 
the march of human improvement during the present century. The 
conditions of the treaty exhibit that enlightened and enlarged spirit 
of national philanthropy which does great honour to Mr. Clayton and 
Sir Henry Bulwer, the British minister to the United States. In 
connection with the miraculous growth of California, and the im- 
mense emigration to that country, as well as in other relations, what 
must be the eff'ects of this treaty upon the improvement and pros- 
perity of the civilized world ! 

During this year, the awful fatality, which marked the progress of 
the Asiatic cholera, excited almost universal consternation. Pur- 
suing a direction contrary to that of 1832, it reached our shores at 
the southwest, and for a long time committed the most dreadful rav- 
ages in Louisiana, Texas, and Mexico, and in the valleys of the Mis- 
sissippi and Ohio, before it made its appearance at the North. In 
appalling numbers the people fell before the dreadful scourge, the 
fatal results being no doubt multiplied by the inexperience of the 



608 



ADMTNISTEATION OF TAYLOR. 



physicians in this disease, and by fear, improper diet, and that want 
of cleanliness which is, in some measure, unavoidable by the poorer 
classes in all our cities. Its malignancy at St. Louis, Cincinnati, 
Louisville, and the smaller towns upon the Mississippi and Ohio, is 
unparalleled in the history of modern epidemics. In the latter part 
of November, 1848, it appeared at San Francisco, and many a 
young man from the States, while far away from his home and his 
kindred, fell a victim to the terrible destroyer. Business, in many 
places, suffered greatly from the prevalence of the disease. In a 
few weeks it gradually abated, and in the following month entirely 
disappeared. On the 14th of May, it broke out in New York city,- 
the first cases occurring at a place celebrated for its filth, vice, and 
destitution. During the week ending on the 21st of July, 714 per- 
sons died of cholera in the city of New York. The whole number 
of deaths was 5017 ; the whole number of cases is unknown. 

N vievv of this fearful visitation, the President recom- 
mended that the first Friday in August be observed 
throughout the nation as a day of fasting and prayer 
New York and the Atlantic cities were relieved from 
the cholera in the fall ; but it still lingered in the 
southwest, and, even in the fall of 1850, raged more 
'or less severely at various places in that portion of the Union. 

It had been, for some time, rumoured that an armed expedi- 
tion against Cuba was contemplated in the United States. In 
August, 1849, the President issued a proclamation, warning 
the citizens of the republic agamst engaging in an enterprise " so 
grossly in violation of our laws and treaty obligations." What effect 
this proclamation had in preventing such attempts for the future, 
will be seen in a subsequent part of this chapter. 

The rapid growth and brilliant prospects of California, her adop- 
tion of a constitution by which slavery was to be forever excluded 
from her territory, and her intended application for admission into 
the Union, produced the most intense excitement in every section of 
the country. Men looked forward with unusual interest to the meet- 
ing of Congress. The anti-slavery men of the North exulted in the 
present situation of affairs, thinking it to indicate a state of public 
sentiment which would lead to the utter extermination of slavery 
The politicians and leading planters of the South, fearing perhap? 
for the present safety of their institutions, resolved to prevent, at all 
hazards, the admission of California with her present boundaries and 




ADMINISTRATION OF TATLOK. 



609 



constitution. Another element of controversy was the interest of 
those speculators, in and out of Congress, who owned property in 
California, had received or were expecting contracts from her exist- 
ing government, and upon whom her admission would confer splen- 
did fortunes. Another friend of that admission was found in 
Colonel Thomas H. Benton, United States Senator from Missouri, 
whose son-in-law, Colonel Fremont, had immense possessions in 
California — possessions said to contain inexhaustible mines of gold, 
the title to which he naturally wished to place upon a secure foun- 
dation. Colonel Fremont was also elected a United States Senator 
from California, and was at Washington, with his colleague, Mr. 
Gwinn, anxiously waiting to be admitted as a member of the na- 
tional council. 

N the 3d of December, Congress commenced its 
session. Its members shared in the excitement 
vhich prevailed throughout the country. Many 
fruitless efforts were made in the House to elect a 
speaker. The number of ballottings was sixty- 
three, occupying the space of twenty days. This 
■unprecedented delay was occasioned by the " free soil" mem 
hers, who, though few in numbers, were able to prevent 
either of the great parties from effecting a choice. The dem- 
ocratic candidate, Mr. Cobb, however, was at length elected. 
The message of General Taylor called the attention of Congress to 
a revision of the tariff, improvements in rivers and harbours, strict 
neutrality in relation to foreign contending powers, and the estab- 
lishment of a branch-mint in California, and also recommended the 
admission of that territory with the constitution she had already 
formed. 

Early in the session, Mr. Clay presented a series of carefully 
digested resolutions designed to settle amicably all the questions in 
dispute between the North and the South growing out of the subject 
of slavery. These resolutions he supported, on a subsequent day, 
by one of the most powerful and masterly speeches in the whole 
range of ancient or modern oratory. He had no personal aspirations 
of a political nature — he should soon pass away — he should soon be 
beyond the reach of praise or censure, but he wished to make one 
more effort in behalf of the country which he loved, which he had 
served so long, and which would be dear to his heart to the latest 
hour of his existence. The Union itself was in danger. Many 

77 




610 



ADMINISTEATION OF TAYLOR. 



persons no longer thought of a separation with dread, or trembled 
at the calamities of civil war. " Sir," said the venerable statesman. 
" I implore gentlemen, 1 adjure them, whether from the South or the 
North, by all they hold dear in this world — by all their love of lib- 
erty — by all their veneration for their ancestors — by all their grati- 
tude to Him who has bestowed upon them such unnumbered and 
countless blessings — by all the duties which they owe to mankind 
—and by all the duties which they owe to themselves, to pause, sol- 
emnly to pause at the edge of the precipice, before the fatal and 
dangerous leap is taken into the yawning abyss below, from which 
none who ever take it shall return in safety." This speech carried 
conviction to the minds of all unprejudiced persons, and raised up 
in Congress a powerful party favourable to compromise, and com- 
posed of whigs and democrats, of Northerners and Southerners 



ADMINISTRATION OF TAYLOR. 



611 




JOHN C. OALHOU; 



OHN C. CALHOUN, the great orator and states- 
I man, then senator from South Carolina, took a deep 
interest in the great questions which were agitating 
the country, and though extremely feeble in "he ah h, 
sometimes took part in the discussions of the Senate. 
He was unwell when he left home, and his malady 
'was greatly increased by his labours and mental anxiety at 
(Washington. Yet even from the bed of sickness he could 
not forbear to lift up his warning voice against measures 
which, in his opinion, would benefit the North at the expense 
of the South. At this critical and, we might perhaps say decisive, 
period, this great champion of Southern interests, the man whose 
station as an eloquent advocate and faithful defender of the rights o{ 
the South, and whose place in the affections of the Southern people 
can never again be filled, was removed by death from the turbulent 
arena of political strife, while yet the dark cloud of disunion seemed 
to hover over his beloved country. The funeral obsequies of this 
zreat man, and the honours everywhere paid to his memory, demon- 




612 



ADMINISTRATION OF TATLOE. 



strated the respect which all parties entertained for his character, 
and showed, in the most impressive and touching manner, that his 
constituents were deeply sensible that their strong pillar had been 
removed, and that its loss was indeed irreparable. 

Mr. Calhoun was born in Abbeyville district. South Carolina, on 
the 18th of March, 1782. He was of an Irish family. His father, 
Patrick Calhoun, was born in Ireland, and at an early age came to 
Pennsylvania, whence he went to the western part of Virginia, and 
removed to South Carolina in the year 1756. Mr. Calhoun's mother 
was a Miss Caldwell, of Charleston, Virginia. His early means ol 
instruction were limited by his location in a newly-settled country, 
'fmong a sparse population, sustained by emigrants from Virginia 
and Pennsylvania, with but little connection with the lower country 
o^ South Carolina. At the age of thirteen, he was put under the 
charge of his brother-in-law. Dr. Waddel, in Columbia county, 
Georgia ; but he had scarcely commenced his literary course, before 
his father and sister died. His teacher, occupied with his clerical 
duties, was a good deal absent from home • on his second marriage 
he resumed the duties of his academy. Under his instruction, young 
Calhoun progressed with great rapidity. Before this, however, he 
had availed himself of the advantage of a snail library, and became 
deeply interested in the perusal of history. In 1802, he became a 
student in Yale College, and two years afterwards, graduated with a 
reputation for great abilities, and with the lespect and confidence or 
his preceptors and associates. He afterwards studied law, and for 
a few years practised in the courts of Souih Carolina. He served 
for a few years in the Legislature of that State, and his great mind 
has left upon her statute-book impressions of great practical im- 
portance to society. He :^"'.me into Congress at a time of deep 
and exciting interes" 1 ne invincibility of Great Britain had 
almost become proverbial. But Mr. Calhoun, in conjunction 
with Henry Clay and others, among whom were Cheves and 
Lowndes, sustained the war of 1812 throughout, and forever asso- 
ciated their names with the glorious histoiy of that period. At the 
close of Madison's administration, he was regarded as one of the 
sages of the republic. In 1817, Mr. Monroe offered him a place in 
his cabinet. His friends feared lest his bright reputation might be 
tarnished in this new sphere of action. Their fears were groundless 
He assumed the duties of the War Department, and what was com- 
plex and confused, he soon reduced to simplicity and order. His 



ADMINISTEATIO^r OF TAYTLOE. 



613 



organization of the department, and his manner of discharging its 
undefined duties, have the impress of originality and the sanction of 
experience. He took his seat in the Senate as Vice-President on 
the 4th of March, 1825, having remained in the War Department 
more than seren years. As the presiding officer of this body, he 
had the nniversal respect of its members. Posterity will do justice 
to the part which, at a later period, he acted in the controversy be- 
tween South Carolina and the federal government. [See p. 526.] 
The death of Mr. Upshur left vacant the State Department, which, 
by the common consent of aU parties, Mr. Calhoun was called to 
fill. ** Under Calhoun's counsel," says one of his eulogists, " Texas 
was brought into the Union ; his name is associated with one of the 
most remarkable events of history — that of one republic being an- 
nexed to another by voluntary consent." His connection with tne 
executive department of the federal government terminated with the 
administration of Mr. Tyler. While Secretary" of State, he won the 
confidence and respect of foreicrn ambassadors. His dispatches were 
marked by clearness, sagacity, and boldness. 

R. CALHOUN was an acute reasoner, well versed 
in all the subtleties of logic. Perhaps no man was 
^ver better qualified to make " the worse appear the 
j> better reason perhaps, too, his Southern views 
and prejudices were sometimes allowed too much 
influence over his judgment ; but his sincerity, his 
^ strict integrity, his love of truth, and his pure and incor- 
raptible patriotism, were always conceded even by his 
* strongest political opponents. A statue of this distinguished 
man was executed by Hiram Powers, the great American 
sculptor, then residing in Italy. 

For months the resolutions of Mr. Clay occupied the attention of 
the Senate to the exclusion of almost all other subjects. A proposi- 
tion was made by Mr. Foote to refer the whole matter to a com m ittee 
of thirteen. After a lon^ debate this course was adopted, and the 
committee appointed, of which Mr. Clay was chairman. On the 
8th of May, he presented the report of the committee, including the 
famous Compromise or Omnibus Bill," the measures proposed in 
which were as follows : 

1. The admission of any new State or States formed out of Texas 
to be postponed until they shall hereafter present themselves for 
aiTiission into the Union, when it will be the duty of Congress 
39 8F 




614 ADMINISTRATION OF TAYLOR. 

fairly and faithfully to execute the compact with Tezas by admitting 
such new State or States. 

2. The admission forthwith of California into the Union, with the 
boundaries she has proposed. 

3. The establishment of territorial governments, without the 
Wilmot proviso, for New Mexico and Utah, embracing all the terri* 
fory recently acquired by the United States from Mexico, not con- 
tained in the boundaries of California. 

4. The combination of these two last-mentioned measures in the 
same bill. 

5. The establishment of the western and northern boundaries of 
Texas, and the exclusion from her jurisdiction of all New Mexico, 
with the grant to Texas of a pecuniary equivalent ; and the section 
for that purpose to be incorporated in the bill admitting California, 
and establishing territorial governments for Utah and New Mexico. 

6. More effectual enactments of law to secure the prompt delivery 
of persons bound to service or labor in one State, under the laws 
thereof, who escape into another State. 

7. Abstaining from abolishing slavery ; but, under a heavy penalty, 
prohibiting the slave-trade in the District of Columbia. 

j^^^JJ)^ OR months this report was the subject of a most 
spirited and, we are sorry to add, angry *and violent 
^^^^MT^/ discussion in the Senate. Almost every member 
^^^^3|Bc^i>)j|) entered the field of debate. The dignity of that 
^^S^ branch of the legislature was sadly lowered 
0$^^^r by the rash retort and disgraceful personal invective 

in which senators permitted themselves to indulge. But 
*^jL the violence of political controversy was soon to be rebuked, 
^ and, for a moment, arrested by a solemn, unexpected, and 
peculiarly afflictive dispensation of Providence. 
General Taylor had participated in the celebration of the ever- 
memorable 4th of July, and had suffered greatly from exposure and 
fatigue. On the 5th he was attacked with a violent cholera morbus, 
and on the 9th, his illness, which had not been regarded as danger- 
ous, ended in death. As no man, since the days of Washington, 
had been more beloved than General Taylor, the effect of the news 
of his death, when borne upon the lightning wings of the telegraph, 
can better be imagined than described. The heart of the nation 
almost ceased to beat. Sadness and gloom filled every mansion, and 
reached every cottage in the land. Even the most indifferent and 



ADMINISTRATION OF TAYLOE. 



615 



insensible felt as if a father, a counsellor, a protector, and a friend 
had been taken from their side. It was difficult to bow submis- 
sively to the irreversible decree of Providence. In every city, 
buildings shrouded in the sable habiliments of woe, the tolling bell, 
the solemn and plaintive strains of mournful music, the funeral pro- 
cession, and the funeral oration spoke eloquently, but inadequately 
of the deep and inexpressible grief which had filled every heart. 
He who had been so long inured to the hardship's of a soldier's 
life — who, even in the winter of his days, had safely borne the 
toils and miraculously escaped the dangers of the fields of Mexico 
who had never surrendered to an enemy of his country — the be- 
loved hero and the beloved President, had fallen suddenly and unex- 
pectedly, while enjoying the reward of his services, and the 
affection and veneration of a grateful people. He had fought hie 
last battle, and surrendered only where all must surrender — to a 
foe whose victory, sooner or later, is inevitably sure. He left 
behind, as a priceless legacy, the bright example of a man who, 
to use his own dying words, had, throughout life, " endeavoured to 
do his duty." 

ENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR, the second son 
Colonel Richard Taylor, was born in Orange 
^^aiH[Hmm|jT county, Virginia, in November, 1784. About two 
-^^^^SflyHff hundred years ago, his ancestors emigrated from 
^^*^P^"™ England, and settled in Eastern Virginia. After 
i^g^ distinguishing himself in the Revolutionary War, his father, 
.^^P about the year 1790, left Virginia for Kentucky, settled on 
^@^the " dark and bloody ground," and for years endured the 
mjh heavy trials then inseparable from a border life. The shrill 
y war-whoop, the gleam of the tomahawk, the sharp crack of 
the rifle, the homestead saved by the courage of his father, were 
among his earliest recollections. It was in scenes like these that 
his young nerves acquired firmness, and the foundation of his 
military education and character was laid. He was sent to school 
at an early age. The venerable Elisha Ayers, now residing in 
Preston, Connecticut, was his teacher ; and we have often heard 
him descant with rapture on the quick apprehension of his quondam 
pupil, his studious habits, and the many other excellences of his 
character. 

In his earlier military exploits, which were scarcely less glorious 

than those of his later campaigns, he displayed all those remarkable 
11 



616 



ADMINISTEATION OF TAYLOR. 



traits of character which have since elicited the highest admiration 
of his countrymen and of the world. In 1808, he entered the 
army as first lieutenant, in the 7th regiment of infantry, and hav- 
ing soon distinguished himself in border skirmishes with the sav- 
ages, and in the bloody battle of Tippfecanoe, was promoted to the 
rank of captain. In t|ie war of 1812, Captain Taylor was intrusted 
with the defence of Fort Harrison, on the Wabash. Its works were 
in a miserable condition, and it was garrisoned by only fifty men, 
thirty of whom were disabled by sickness. Yet, with this feeble 
aid, he immediately began to repair the fortifications. These were 
hardly completed when, on the night of the 4th of September, 1812, 
an alarm shot summoned him from a bed of fever to meet the attack 
of a large force of the Miami Indians. The sentinels are driven in, 
a blockhouse is fired by the enemy, and a thick discharge of bullets 
and arrows is poured in upon the fort. The bowlings of the savages 
heard in the darkness of the night, the shrieks of women and chil- 
dren, the terror of the sick, and the apparently certain destruction of 
the garrison, would have forced almost any other leader to surrender 
in despair ; but nothing could shake the calm bravery, or disturb 
the cool judgment of the youthful commander. Inspired by him 
with a portion of his own energy, the soldiers extinguish the flames, 
and for six hours return the fire of the Indians until daybreak enables 
the whites to aim with greater precision ; soon after which the In- 
dians disperse and retreat down the river. One of his superior 
officers, in a letter to the Governor of Kentucky, says, " The firm 
and almost unparalleled defence of Fort Harrison by Captain Zachary 
Taylor has raised him a fabric of character not to be affected by 
eulogy." It procured for him the rank of brevet major in the Ameri- 
can army. In 1832, he was advanced to the rank of colonel; and, 
soon after the commencement of the Florida war, he was ordered to 
that territory. Here, in constant and arduous service, he continued 
to distinguish himsell , and his whole career was such as to increase 
the confidence and admiration of his countrymen. While in Florida he 
fought with the Seminoles the ever memorable battle of Okee-Chobee 
— a battle remarkable for the bravery and skill displayed on both sides. 
Seven hundred Indian warriors occupied a dense hammock, with a 
small but nearly impassable stream in front, their flanks being 
secured by swamps that were altogether impassable. Colonel Tay- 
lor's force amounted to about five hundred men, composed partly o* 
raw volunteers With great, sz r ion, our soldiers, sinking nearly tc 



ADMINISTEATION OF TAYLOE. 



617 



the middle in mire, cross the stream under a most galling fire, and 
a close and desperate conflict ensues. In one of our companies 
only four privates escape unharmed. During the fight, Colonel 
Taylor is constantly passing on horseback from one point to another, 
and within range of the Indian rifles, without the least seeming 
regard for his personal safety. The whites gained a complete vic- 
tory — a victory which broke the power and spirit of the Seminoles 
and gained for its hero the thanks of the President of the United 
States — a victory whose importance was still further acknowledged 
by the promotion of Taylor to the rank of brigadier-general by brevet, 
for " distinguished services in the battle of Okee-Chobee in Florida." 
The glorious victories of General Taylor in the late war with Mex- 
ico, have already occupied the attention of our readers. In person. 
General Taylor was about the middle height, and was a little in- 
clined to corpulency. His countenance stronglv indicated the real 
benevolence of his heart. iVs a military chief, he must be allowed 
to stand in the very first rank. He was no*t indifferent to the good 
opinion of his countrymen, but he was not desirous of political pre- 
ferment. At his inauguration, his appearance was so unassuming 
that many persons could not, without difficulty, believe that he was 
the general whose fame had filled the civilized world. What would 
have been his policy had he lived, cannot of course be known with 
certainty ; there is every reason, however, to believe that it would 
ha^e promoted the peace and prosperity of his country. 




8v8 



61S 



ADMmiSTEATION OF FILLMOBE. 




ON. MILLARD FILLMORE. 




FTER proper demonstrations of respect for the 
deceased President, the business of Congress was 
again resumed. On the 10th of July, 1850, the 
Hon. Millard Fillmore took the oath prescribed by 
the Constitution, and succeeded General Taylor as 
President of the United States. Mr. Fillmore was 
born on the 7th of January, 1800, at Summer Hill, in Cayuga 
County, New York. He enjoyed only the advantages of 
common schools until the age of fifteen, when he was ap- 
preAticed to the wool-carding business, in Livingston County. 
Here he remained four years, in the mean time devouring the con- 
tents of the village library. Judge Waterwood, a sound lawyer and 
a benevolent man, perceiving his talents, prevailed on him to quit 
his intended occupation, and commence the study of law in his 
office. In 1829, and the two succeeding years, he was elected to 
the State Legislature ; and it was principally through his activity, 
zeal, and eloquence, that the laws for imprisonment for debt were 
partially repealed. In 1832, he was elected to Congress, as a 
member of the House of Representatives. In 1836, he greatly dis- 
tinguished himself by his report on the New Jersey case. 

The new cabinet of Mr. Fillmore consisted of Daniel Webster, of 
Massachusetts, Secretary of State ; Thomas Corwin, of Ohio, Sec- 
retary of the Treasury ; Charles M. Conrad, of Louisiana, Secre- 
tary of War; William A. Graham, of North Carolina, Secretary of 
the Navy; Alexander H. H. Stewart, of Virginia, Secretary of the 



ADMHaSTEATION OF FTLLMOEE. 



619 




Interior ; Nathan K. Hall, of New York, Postmaster- General ; and 
John J Crittenden, of Kentucky, Attorney- General. A cabinet of 
great ability, and one which commanded the respect and confidence 
of the country. 

HE discussion of the Comjiromise Bill, with all its 
iolence and sectional jealousies, was now con 
tinued. The bill was brought out under favourable 
auspices, and supported by the powerful arguments 
and eloquence of Clay, Webster, Foote, Dickinson, 
Cass, and many others. Moderate men and the 
I friends of the Union everywhere had, therefore, great hopes 
M^i of its success. But the message of General Taylor had 
merely recommended the admission of California, the other 
questions being left to the future, and territorial governments 
provided for New Mexico and Utah, as they might be in a condition 
to demand them. This message was insisted on by some members 
of the government, and by their friends of the press, as defining the 
course of the administration ; and its high authority, combined with 
other causes, was sufficient to defeat the Compromise Bill. But 
essentially the same measures in separate bills were adopted before 
the close of the session. On the 26th of August, the Fugitive Slave 
Bill passed both houses. A bill was passed providing for the ad- 
justment of the boundary of Texas, and the establishment of a terri- 
torial government over New Mexico. California was admitted with 
a constitution by which slavery is forever prohibited. Utah, when- 
ever admitted into the Union, was to be received with or without 
slavery, as its own constitution may prescribe at the time of its ad- 
mission. The peaceful settlement of the exciting questions which 
had threatened disunion, if not civil war, greatly relieved the public 
mind throughout the country. To complete the matter, a bill abolish- 
ing the domestic slave-trade in the District of Columbia, received 
the sanction of both houses of Congress. This session of Congress 
closed on the 30th of September. 

In the summer of this year, the case of Dr. John White Webster, 
a professor in the medical college of Boston, and under sentence of 
death for the murder of Dr. George Parkman, a very wealthy physi- 
cian of Boston, excited the deepest sensation throughout the coun- 
try. The high standing of the parties, the horrid details of the mur- 
der, and the doubts which, notwithstanding the conclusive nature of 
he evidenco, existed in the minds of many with regard to the guilt 



620 



ADMINISTRATION OF FUJLMORE. 



of the accused, rendered the subject one of absorbing interest, and, 
indeed, drew the attention of the whole civilized world. It was 
difficult to believe that a man in Professor Webster's position would 
commit such a deed, merely to escape the payment of a few huQ- 
dred dollars. But all doubts were at length removed by the confes- 
sion of the prisoner himself. The most earnest efforts were made 
to obtain a commutation of punishment ; but they were unsuccessful, 
and the unhappy man was executed on the 30th of August. 

A more pleasing source of excitement was found in the arrival ol 
'enny Lind, the celebrated Swedish songstress, and, probably, in 
vocal music, the greatest artist of ancient or modern times. The 
fascination of her manners, and the goodness of her heart, no less 
than her unrivalled talents, contributed to win for her a popularity 
never before or since enjoyed by any musical performer. 

NOTHER hero soon followed the lamented Tayloi 
in death. On the 19th of November, Col. Richard 
M. Johnson, former Vice-President of the United 
States, died at his residence, in Scott County, 
Kentucky, in the 65th year of his age. His gallant 
achievements at the battle of the Thames have 
enrolled his name among those of our greatest heroes. 
General Harrison, who commanded the American forces in 
this battle, found his most efficient aid in the bravery of 
Colonel Johnson, who, at the head of his regiment, dashed 
through the enemy's lines, throwing them into complete disorder ; 
when, an attack being also made in the rear, the enemy were com- 
pelled to surrender. The famous Tecumseh fell by the hands of 
Colonel Johnson himself. Wnile a member ot Congress, he ac- 
quired a great reputation by his celebrated Sunday Mail Report 
against the suspension of the Sunday mails. The people of many 
pans of New England will remember with pleasure the visit of Col. 
Johnson in 1843. 

The Fugitive Slave Law, whose passage has been already men- 
tioned, met with severe opposition in the free States, and attempts 
to enforce it sometimes led to scenes of popular tumult and commo- 
tion. On its first passage, the law had created great excitement at 
the North, and was by many persons declared to be unconstitutional, 
as it seemed to contravene the right of habeas corpus, and deny to 
the fugitive any thing like a fair and impartial trial. The opinioD 
of the Attorney-General, Mr. Crittenden, that the law did not con* 




ADMUnSTKATION OF FILLMOEE. 



621 




tradict the right of habeas corpus, was not sufficient to silence the 
opposition of the Northern abolitionists. 

The first application of the law was in the case of James Hamlet. 
He was arrested on the 2Tth of September, in the city of New York, 
examined before the United States Commissioner, and was delivered 
over to his claimant. 

N Detroit, the arrest of a negro, as an alleged fugi- 
tive slave, created so much excitement, with threats 
of violent rescue, that the military were called out, 
and, with loaded arms, escorted the fugitive from the 
prison to the court-room. The matter was finally 
compromised by the purchase of the slave, by pub- 
lic subscription, for the sum of $500. This case occurred 
in the early part of October, and about the middle of the 
month occurred the famous case of the Crafts in Bos- 
ton. William and Ellen Crafts, reputed fugitive slaves, 
resided in the city of Boston. William H. Hughes and John 
Knight, as agents for the owner of the fugitives, visited Boston for 
the purpose of claiming them. After much delay, they procured the 
issue of a warrant to arrest the slaves, but were themselves arrested 
as kidnappers, put under heavy bonds, surrounded and hissed by the 
populace, again arrested for violation of law, and finally compelled 
to leave without effecting the object of their mission. The fugi- 
tives, who had been in concealment, afterwards left the country foi 
England. 

On the 23d of December, Henry Long was arrested in the city oi 
New York. The event caused much excitement, but no attempt 
was made to resist the law. On the 8th of January, 1851, Judge 
Tudson, of the United States District Court, delivered his opinion oi 
the case before a densely crowded audience, and ordered the sur- 
render of the fugitive to his claimant. 

On the 15th of February, a slave, named Shadrach, was arrested 
in Boston. The consequences were a scene of great popular tumult, 
and the subsequent rescue of the prisoner by the mob. The claim- 
ant was John De Bree, of Norfolk, purser in the United States Navy. 
His attorney secured the arrest of Shadrach, and had him brought 
up for examination. A delay, on the ground of want of preparation, 
being asked by the counsel for the prisoner, and granted by the 
Commissioner, the court-room is partially deserted. A company, 
principally of coloured persons, rush in, rescue the slave fmm the 



622 



ADMmiSTKATION OF FILLMORE. 



hands of the marshal and his assistants, and bear him away in tii 
umph. A powerful sensation was produced throughout the country 
The attention of government was aroused, and the President com- 
municated a message to Congress in relation to the subject. Mean- 
while, the fugitive effected his escape. Several persons were ar- 
rested and tried for aiding in a conspiracy to d»ifeat the execution of 
the law. 

In the case of Sims, arrested in Boston on the 3d of April, the 
law was successfully enforced. An effort to take the prisoner from 
the United States Marshal, and bring him before the State court for 
having inflicted, with a knife, a severe wound upon the officer who 
first arrested him, was overruled, and the fugitive was finally sent 
home to his master. 

N the 2d of December, 1850, Congress assembled, 
^^{^j^B^^^ and the first annual message from President Fill- 

^1(^^*^^^Jb ^^^^^ communicated to both houses on the 

same day. The accompanying report of the Sec- 
Y^^t^J^MIi^^ retary of the Treasury showed that the receipts 
into the Treasury exceeded the expenditures by 
^^^^more than four millions of dollars, and that the public debt had 
been reduced to about $495,277. Among the important acts 
of the session was the passage of the Reform Postage Bill. 
\ It was passed on thp last day of the session. Although the 
rates of postage are still higher than many of the friends of reform 
wished them to be, the reduction is considerable, and will, by in- 
creasing the facilities for correspondence, undoubtedly be of great 
service to the country. In connection with the Reform Postage 
Law, a new silver coin, of the value of three cents, was authorized 
to be issued from the Mint. The tariff was amended at this session 
by the passage of a new Appraisement Bill, providing: 1st, That 
imported articles shall be appraised at their market value at the 
period of exportation ; 2d, That to this value shall be added all costs 
and charges, excepting insurance, and including the charge of com- 
mission ; and 3d, That these charges shall be made as the true value 
at the port where the same shall be entered. This established the 
principle of a " home valuation,*' for which the friends of a higt 
tariff have long contended. The session terminated on the 4th of 
March. 

Early in May, the Erie Railroad was opened. It extends from 
Piermont, on the Hudson, 24 miles above the city of New York, tc 



ADMISTSTiiATlOX OF FILLMOEE. 



623 



Dunkirk, on Lake Erie, a distance of 436 miles. This road — the 
greatest work ever undertaken by private enterprise — connects the 
Ocean with the Far West, passing through the most populous and 
wealthy State of the Union, and, like some mighty artery for the 
circulation of the life-blood, conve^-ing the products of the West, 
and the manufactures and importations of the East ; while countless 
thousands avail themselves of an easy and pleasant mode of travel- 
ling through one of the most interesting portions of the country. 
The occasion of its completion and opening was graced by the pre- 
sence of the Chief ^Magistrate of the Nation and several members of 
the Cabinet. Along the entire route, the people turn out in masses 
to honour their distinguished visitors and the great event which 
called them hither ; and speeches and celebrations are tut; c^-^pr oi 
the day. The entire cost of this road was about -$24,000,000. The 
T rail is used through its whole length, It employs ovpr IQO en- 
gines, and nearly 400 men. 

X the early part of this year, the attention of the 
civilized world was «trongly drawn to the Great 
Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, or the 
" World's Fair," at London ; an exhibition planned, 
we believe, by his Royal Highness Prince Albert, 
and one which will confer lasting honour upon his 

f^name. as marking the commencement of a new era in the 
progress of the human race. Although the American de- 
partment at this exhibition was necessarily inferior in some 
^ respects to those of some other nations, yet, in some of those 
irts generally regarded as useful rather than ornamental, the inven- 
tive genius of our people shone with pre-eminent lustre. Th-e vic- 
tor}* obtained by the yacht America, in a trial of speed, created a 
great sensation in both hemispheres, and aroused the attention of the 
English to our decided superiority in the art of shipbuilding, if not 
in that of seamanship. An American, Mr. Hobbs, also gaine-d great 
celebrity by exhibiting a lock which, for the purpose of securing 
property, was found decidedly superior to every other. 

Let us now recur to the contemplated invasion of Cuba. Not- 
withstanding the proclamation of the President, an expedition for 
the purpose just mentioned left New Orleans on the 25th of April, 
1850, and on the 22d of the succeeding month. It consisted of 
from five to seven hundred men, under the command of General 
Narcissus Lopez, an exiled Cuban of some note, and considerable 




62i 



ADMINISTEATION OF FILLMORE. 




military experience. The ostensible object of this movement was a 
voyage to California, and many, it is said, enlisted under this assur- 
ance. The business was conducted with a secrecy, which pre- 
vented the knowledge of the American government, and eluded the 
vigilance of the Spanish consuls. 

N the 19th of May, just before daylight, General 
Lopez landed his forces at Cardenas, a small town 
in the northeastern portion of the island. A com- 
bat ensues between the invaders and the garrison^ 
and results in the defeat of the latter. The Gov- 
ernor is taken prisoner, the palace plundered, and 
the public money seized. But this triumph is of short dura- 
tion. About daylight, a body of Spanish troops appear, march- 
ing upon the town, when the invaders demand to be recon- 
ducted to their vessels, in which they make the best of their 
way towards the coast of the United States, reaching Key West just 
in time to escape a Spanish war-steamer sent to pursue them. Some 
of the party being left behind, are captured and sent to Havana. 
The rest scatter themselves about Key West, and beg their way 
home, while Lopez himself reaches Savannah and New Orleans in 
safely, in spite of attempts to detain him on a criminal charge, made 
at the instigation of the Secretary of State, but failing from want of 
evidence or proper jurisdiction, or for some other reason. About 
the same time, the Susan Loud and another vessel were captured 
off the coast of Cuba, with one hundred men, collected for the inva- 
sion of the island, but who subsequently declared that they embarked 
under false pretences, and supposed they were ^^oing to California. 
After much negotiation, it being clearly seen that our government 
had done all in its power to suppress the expedition, the prisoners 
were sent home, and a good understanding once more established 
with the Spanish authorities. General Quitman, one of the heroes 
of the Mexican war, and General Henderson, were prosecuted, at 
the instance of the government, as secret abettors of the expedition. 
The trials ended in the early part of 1851, when, for want of suffi- 
cient evidence, the defendants were acquitted. Active measures 
being taken by the government, the operations of the invaders were 
checked for a season. 

Late in July, the news arrived that a portion of the people of Cuba 
had taken up arms for the purpose of throw^ing off the yoke of Spain 
and achieving the political independence of the island. On the 2d, 



ADMmiSTEATION OF FUXMOEE. 



625 



a pronunciamento had been issued by the rerolutionists, whose head- 
quarters were in the vicinity of Principe, which, with some smaller 
towns, was said to have declared for freedom. In several skirmishes 
the insurgents seem to have been the victors. Meanwhile, an ex- 
pedition from the United States, under Lopez, was fitted out to aid 
the revolutionary party. On the night of the 11th of August, the 
General, with about 480 men, effected a landing at Playtas, about 
twenty leagues from Havana. Leaving Colonel Crittenden at this 
point with about 100 men in charge of the stores, he proceeded with 
the remainder of his force to the town of Las Posas. The inhabi- 
tants fled as he approached, neither joininsr his standard ncr giving 
him aid or encouragement of any kind. The day after landing. Col. 
Crittenden was attacked by the Spanish troops, and, after struggling 
as long as possible, was compelled by superior force to retire from 
the field. Finding that neither Lopez, who was only three miles 
off, nor any of the inhabitants came to their aid, they resolved to 
return to the United States. They procured small boats, and had 
just got to sea when they were followed, and about fifty of them were 
captured on the 15th by the Spanish war-steamer Habanero. They 
were carried to Havana on the 16th, and on the 17th were shot by 
order of the government. Among the unfortunate victims were 
several Americans of distinction. It was at first reported that they 
were not tried, but shot immediately, and that their bodies were 
shockingly mutilated, and ever^' possible indignity offered to their 
remains by the Cuban populace. But these statements were after 
wards contradicted. It was said that they were properly tried and 
condemned, and that after their execution thev wpre decentlv in- 
terred. Some of them, among whom was Colon 1 Crittenden, wrote 
letters to their friends at home, all of which agreed that they had 
been grossly deceived as to the state of popular feeling in Cuba. 
When the news of the execution of the fifty men reached the United 
States, great excitement and indigrnation prevailed, large meetings 
were held in various cities, and the conduct of the Spanish authori- 
ties in this brutal transaction was condemned without measure 
When the intelligence reached Xew Orleans, with the report of the 
insults heaped upon the dead bodies, the popular agitation was over- 
whelming. The residence of the Spanish Consul and the shops of 
the Spaniards are attacked, and the office of a Spanish newspapei 
was destroyed. 

40 8e 



626 



AD:MI^'ISTEATIO^' OF FILLMOEF.. 




HE remaining portion of the forces under Lopej 
u as finally doomed to a similar defeat. On the 
1 3th, they were attacked by a large body of Spanish 
iroops at Las Posas. The action was severe, and 
the Spaniards were repulsed. Lopez lost about 
fifty men, but retained possession of the place. 
A But h" soon perceived that his hopes of aid from the Cubans 
were groundless, and that he could not maintain himself 
against the Spanish troops, and he determined, therefore, 
to conceal himself among the mountains. On the way 
thither several battles were fought with Spanish detachments, the in- 
vaders suffering severely in each, and inflicting losses more or less 
serious on their opponents. Among the Spaniards who fell was 
General Enna, a distinguished officer, who was buried at Havana 
with military honours. While the remaining troops of Lopez were 
breakfasting at Martitorena, on the 24th, they were surprised by an 
overwhelming Spanish force, and completely dispersed. From that 
time, if we can trust the Spanish accounts, they are zealously hunted 
down by all classes ; the peasants pursue them with dogs, the negroes 
aid in th^ir capture, and ever}- part of the population display the 
most active and devoted loyalty to the Spanish government. On 
the 28tb, Lopez, with only six followers, wac endeavouring to con- 
ceal himself, and escape to the sea-coast ; but on the 29th he was 
captured in the Pinos de Rangel, by a guide nam d Jose Antonio 
Castaneda, with fifteen peasants. He was conveyed by night to 
Havana, where orders were immediately given for his execution. 
It took place at seven o'clock on the morning of the 1st of Septem- 
ber. He perished by the garote vil, an instrument consisting of an 
iron chair, with a back, upon which, at a point even with the head 
of the sitter, are iron clasps fitting the sides of the head, and a clasp 
to pass round the throat. Behind is a long iron bar attached to a 
screw, which, by a single turn from the executioner, draws the throat 
and side pieces tight, and at the same time sends an iron rod into 
the spinal marrow, causing instantaneous death. In the present in- 
stance, the machine was placed upon a scaffold, about ten feet high 
in the centre of a large square, surrounded by troops. Lopez be- 
haved throughout like a brave man. He walked, surroimded by a 
guard, to the steps of the scaffold as coolly as if he were at the 
head of his troops. He was dressed in a long white gown, and a 
white cap. His wrists were tied before, and above his elbows be 



ADMINISTEATION OF FUXMOEE. 



627 



hind, with cords, which were held by soldiers. He ascended the 
steps with two friends. He faced round, looked upon the soldiers 
and the immense throng outside of the square ; then turned rou^d 
and knelt in prayer for about a minute. He then rose, turned to the 
front, and in a clear, manly voice, loud enough to be heard by the 
thousands present, (it being as still as night,) spoke as follows : 
" Countr\-men : I most solemnly, in this last awful moment of my 
life, ask your pardon for any injury I have caused you. It was not 
my wish to injure any one : my object was your freedom and happi- 
ness." Here he was interrupted by the commanding officer in front. 
He concluded by saying : " My intention was good, and my hope is 
in God." He then bowed, turned round, and took his seat appa- 
rently with as much coolness as if taking a chair in a room with his 
friends. He placed his head back, between the iron grasps, and the 
negro adjusted the throat clasp, and tied his feet to bolts on each 
side of the seat. During this preparation, Lopez conversed with his 
friends. The executioner takes his place at the iron bar behind. 
Lopez kisses the cross handed him by his friend, the negro gives 
one turn of the wrench, and Lopez dies instantly without a struggle. 
The military return to the city, the band playing a quick step, and 
the thousands disperse with little or no noise. About 150 prisoners 
remained in the hands of the colonial government, and were sent to 
Spain to be incarcerated. By the interposition of our government, 
they were released in a few months, and perfect harmony with Spain 
was restored. 

BOUT this time scenes of great excitement were 
passing in California. Two men — Whitaker and 
McKenzie — were in prison at San Francisco await- 
ing their trial. Fearing that justice might not be 
done them, the self-appointed Vigilance Committee 
broke in the prison doors, took the men out on Sun- 
jg divine service, and hanged them in front of the 
building. An immense crowd of people approved and en- 
^ couraged the proceedings, and the authorities made very slight 
\l resistance to the mob. At Sacramento, three men, convicted 
of highway robbery, had been sentenced to be hanged. Robinson, 
one of them, was respited by the Governor for a month. The day 
for the execution of the other two arrives. The sheriff orders Gib- 
son and Thompson to the place of execution, and directs Robinson 
to be taken to a prison-ship, in which he could be secured. The 




628 



ADMmiSTEATION OF FILLMORE. 



crowd refuse to allow this, and retain him in custody. The t\^n 
others are executed by the sheriff, who immediately leaves the 
ground. Robinson is then brought forward, and, after proper reli- 
gious exercises, is also hanged. These transactions created much 
excitement in California ; but it soon subsided, it being generally 
granted that justice had been attained, although by irregular means. 

UBLIC interest was excited, in the early part of 

^M^^^BIK October, by the safe return of the Advance and 
^^^^^B^m Rescue, two small brigs, the former of 140 tons, 

^^U^Sl^^ the latter of 90 tons, sent out by Mr. Henry Grin- 

^J^aSt nell, a wealthy merchant of New York city, in search 
JIl^/ Sir John Franklin and his companions. Unsuccessful 
with regard to its main object, the expedition was yet not 

^Sr wholly fruitless, as discoveries were made which served 
to revive hope with regard to the missing adventurers. 
W The brigs entered Wellington Sound on the 26th of* 
August, 1850, and were joined by Captain Penny, who 
commanded the vessel sent out by Lady Franklin. The perse- 
verance of this self-sacrificing and devoted woman has touched the 
hearts of millions, and is worthy of everlasting remembrance and ad- 
miration. On the 27th, the navigators saw in a cove on the shore 
of Beechy Island, or Beechy Cape, on the east side of the entrance 
of Wellington Channel, indubitable evidence that Sir John Franiilin's 
companions were there in April, 1846. There they found articles 
that had belonged to the Erebus and Terror, the ships under the 
command of Sir John. There lay, bleached to the whiteness of the 
surrounding snow, a piece of canvas, having the name of the Terror 
marked on it with inlestructible charcoal. It was very faint, yet 
perfectly legible. They also found tin canisters for packing meat, 
an anvil block, remnants of clothing, and other articles. But the 
most mstructive, yet at the same time the most melancholy traces 
of the lost ones, were three graves in a little sheltered cove, each 
with a board at the head, bearing the name of the sleeper below, 
with the date of his death. These dates were Tanuary 1st, 1846, 
January 4th, 1846, and April 3d, 1846. The graves were in lati- 
tude about 74° north. There was evidence that the survivors had 
gone northward, for sledge tracks in that direction were distinctly 
visible. On the 13th of December, 1850, the vessels started to 
return, but were frozen in near the mouth of Wellington Channel. 
For nearly nine monlhs they were threateaod with destruction from 



ADMINISTRATION OF FILLMORE. 



629 



the crushing of the ice around them, and were borne along by the 
southeast drift, until, on the 10th of June, they emerged into the 
open sea, in latitude 65° 30', and 1060 miles from the spot where 
they were first fixed in ice — a drift which, for extent and duration, is 
unparalleled in the history of Arctic navigation. The officers and 
men of the American vessels, after this season of fearful peril, re- 
turned without the loss of a single life, and in excellent health. The 
officers thought it far from impossible that Sir John Franklin might 
be still alive, hemmed in by ice at some point which they were un- 
able to reach. They agreed in the opinion that a steamer should 
accompany any expedition which should hereafter be sent upon the 
same mission. 

ONGRESS assembled on the 1st of December; 
and, on the following day, the message of the 
President was communicated to both Houses. 
Among other subjects alluded to in this document, 
was the expected arrival of the Hungarian ex-gov- 
ernor, Louis Kossuth, to convey whom from Tur 
ikey, the United States steam-frigate Mississippi had been 
commissioned by a vote of Congress. The history of Kos- 
suth's efforts and sacrifices in behalf of his country's freedom, 
and the story of his sufferings while an exile and prisoner 
in a strange land, are doubtless familiar to many of our rea- 
ders. It was natural that the American people, so fond of liberty, 
should look forward to the advent of the patriot and hero with no 
ordinary anticipations. In consequence of a change of arrange- 
ments, Governor Kossuth sailed from Gibralter to England in 
another vessel, and after passing a month amid the hospitalities of 
the English, re-embarked in a steamship, and arrived at New York 
on the morning of the 5th of December. The whole population o 
thp city seems carried away with enthusiasm and excitement. The 
roar of cannon, and the huzzas of immense multitudes, honor his dis- 
embarkation at Castle Garden ; and the subsequent military and civic 
parade through the great thoroughfare of the metropolis, amid decora- 
tions of surpassing magnificence, exceeded any former demonstra' 
tion of respect for lofty patriotism and heroic virtues. Numerous 
banquets were afterwards given in honour of the city's distinguished 
guest, and, on each of these occasions, Kossuth — perhaps, the great- 
est of living orators — poured forth those magnificent strains of 
glowing eloquence which., e.T'Q in ^> mere penisal, v^aktv c^^er. 
40 «a8 




630 



ADMINISTRATION OF FILLMOEE. 



powering emotions of delight and admiration. Remaining a shon 
time at New York, Kossuth repaired to Washington, and was for- 
mally introduced to Congress and the President. He afterwards vis- 
ited Harrisburg, Pittsburg, Cincinnati, and the principal cities oi 
the West, receiving everywhere proofs of the warmest sympathy 
and respect of the people. Since his arrival, and the delivery of his 
stirring appeals in behalf of his down-trodden country, the question 
whether, in cases like that of Hungary, our government should inter- 
fere with the efforts of the despots to prevent the attainment of lib- 
erty, has been discussed with the deepest interest, but has not yet 
been settled to the satisfaction of all parties. Upon the whole, how- 
ever, the neutral policy recommended by Washington has been pur- 
sued by the government ; yet large contributions of money and arms 
were placed at the disposal of Kossuth by individuals or companies^ 
acting in the capacity of private citizens. After remaining in the 
United States several months, Kossuth returned to England. 

N the 29ih of July, 1852, the Hon. Henry Clay died 
^^i^ ^Sr^^^ Washington, in the 76th year of his age. He was 
) a^'^jBl ^'^^ ^^'"^ ^ member of the United States Senate 
the State of Kentucky. The intelligence that 
Y^Xoiii^^ great statesman, the incomparable orator, and the 

incorruptible patriot was no more, was everywhere 
f^^^ followed by demonstrations of unaffected grief, and tokens of 
Im^ the deepest respect for the memory of one who, by his tal- 
ents, his zeal, and his long and active services, had contrib- 
* uted so much to the peace and prosperity of his country. 
It was felt that the nation had lost one of its ablest men. 

Mr. Clay was born on the r2th of April, 1777, in a portion of 
Hanover county, Virginia, familiarly known as the " Slashes." He 
was the fifth son of a Baptist clergyman, who is said to have 
preached with great acceptance in the district above mentioned. 
His father dying when he had attained his fifth year, he was left to 
the care of his mother, a woman of strong intellect, and every way 
qualified to superintend his education. But the means afforded for 
this purpose were very limited, and even these he did not enjoy 
without interruption. The narrow circumstances of the family made 
it necessary for him to devote much time to manual employments. 
" He was no stranger," says his biographer, " to the uses of the 
plough, the spade, and the hoe." By his frequent visits to a neigh- 
bouring gristmill, on Pamunkey river, he acquired ^he title " Mill-boy 



ADMINISTKATION OF FILLMORE. 



631 




HBNRT GLA.T. 



of llie Slashes." In 1792, his mother was married to Mr. Henry 
Watkins, and removed to Woodford county, Kentucky, with all her 
children, except Henry and his eldest brother. At the age of four 
teen, we find him in a small drug store, kept by Richard Denny, in 
Richmond, Virginia. Soon after this, he entered the office of 
Peter Tinsley, clerk of the High Court of Chancery. 

The venerable Chancellor Wythe, a gentleman of great worth 
and profound learning, attracted by his habits and appearance, gave 
him the benefit of his instructions, and made him his amanuensis. 
In 1796, he left the office of Mr. Tinsley, and went to reside with 
Robert Brooke, Esq., attorney-general of Virginia. He now, with 
great success, availed himself of the opportunity to prosecute the 
study of law to greater advantage than before. Near the close of 
1797, he was licensed to practice at the bar by the judges of the 
Virginia Court of Appeals. His talents, acquirements, and elo- 
quence soon placed him in the first rank as an advocate, and pro- 
cured for him conlinual professional employment. By the qualities 

79 



632 



ADMIXTSTEATION OF FILLMOEE. 



of his mind and heart, he was well fitted to conduct criminal cases , 
and it is justly regarded as a remarkable fact that, although many ol 
these were intrusted lo his care, he was never m a single instance 
defeated. One remarkable example may be cited in proof of hi. 
wonderful abilities. Two Germans, father and son, were indicted 
for murder, and were tried in Harrison county. The act of killing 
was proved by clear and strong evidence ; and it was not only con- 
sidered a case of murder, but a ver\' aggravated one. The trial 
continued five days, at the close of which he addressed the jury in 
the most eloquent and impassioned manner. They were so touched 
by his pathetic appeals that they gave a verdict of manslaughter 
only. After another hard day's struggle, he procured an arrest of 
judgment, by which his clients were set at liberty. They expressed 
their graiiiude to their deliverer in the most glowing terras ; but an 
old ill-favoured woman, the wife of one of them, and mother of the 
other, returned her thanks in a different manner. Throwing her 
arms around Mr. Clay's neck, she repeatedly kissed him in the 
presence of the court and spectators. " Respecting her feelings," 
says one of his best biographers, " he did not attempt to repulse her, 
but submitted to her caresses with such grace and dignity as to 
elicit outbursts of applause." 

;^HE career of Mr. Chy as a politician commenced as 
far back as 1797. His early efforts in this new field 
sufficiently evince his philanthropy and patriotism. 
His mind was of a strong cast, and, accustomed from 
early years to do its own thinking, it made him a 
man of unbending opinions. He never expressed 
IM] himself on any great question until he had fully discussed 
-^^1 the subject in all its bearings in his own mind, and his con- 
clusions were unalterable. Kind in heart, courteous in his 
manners, eloquent in debate, beloved at his domestic fireside, 
and honored in the national counsels, he became one of the greatest of 
American statesmen. 

The odious Alien and Sedition Laws, enacted in 1798 and 1799, 
found in him one of their most formidable opponents. On one 
occasion, the people had assembled in a grove near Lexington to 
listen to a debate between the friends and enemies of these laws. 
They were first addressed by Mr. George Nicholas, an opponent of 




ADMnnSTEATIOX OF FILLMOPwE. 



633 



tne laws, in a vigorous, logical, and effective speech, by which the 
people were wound up to the highest degree of enthusiasm. The 
speech of Mr. Clay, who followed him, seems to have been a mos^ 
wondenul example of all the higher attributes of eloquence. Mr. 
William Murray next addressed the people in favour of the laws ; but 
without effect, so clearly had their evil tendency been exposed by 
Mr. Clay. He would not have been allowed to proceed, had not 
the speakers before him urgently asked for permission. When 
another reply was attempted, the people could be restrained no lon- 
ger. They rush furiously towards the place occupied by the speaker, 
who is compelled to retreat in haste to save himself from personal 
violence. Seizing Clay and Nicholas, they bear them upon their 
shoulders to a carriage, and, with enihusiastic cheers, draw them 
through the streets of Lexington. 

R. CLAY'S love of liberty was again evinced, at 
a later period, by his efforts in behalf of struggling 
rreece, and still later by the interest which he 
ook in the cause of South American independence. 
A' bill prohibiting " our citizens to sell vessels ol 
war to subjects of a foreign power," was opposed 
by him because, however disguised, it would be understood 
by the world as a law to discountenance any aid being 
given to the South American patriots. His speeches were 
often read at the head of the South American armies, and 
always served to increase the zeal and courage of the sol- 
diers. 

About the beginning of the year 1810, his attention was turned to 
the subject of domestic manufactures. From that time, he continued 
to advocate the doctrine that encouragement and protection should 
be extended by the general government to American industry, and 
if not the sole framer, was ever regarded as the father, and as the 
ablest champion of what is called the American System. 

The Eleventh Congress commenced its session on the 3d of De- 
cember, ISIO. When the subject of rechartering the United States 
Bank was brought forward for discussion, Mr. Clay was opposed tc 
a recharter of that institution. The dangerous tendency, as well as 
unconstitutionality of the measure, were shown by him in the mos 
lucid and convincing manner. His powerful arguments prevailed; 
S'nd the charter was not renewed 





634 



ADMINISTEATION OF FILLMOKE. 



t^^^j^lfSrY^ S the aggressions of Great Britain upon our com 

^^^^^^^A merce, and her impressment of our seamen into hei 
^^^^!#^Pr7 service on suspicion that they were British subjects, 
could no longer be endured with either safety or 
^^^^^^^^^ honour, Mr. Clay strongly advocated a declaration 
of war against that power. The declaration was 
made on the 18th of June, 1812. His speech on the bill to 
increase the army, delivered in the House of Representatives, 
^ January 8, 1813, showed his wonderful control over the feel- 

V ings of his audience. A correct idea of its effect cannot be 
obtained by merely reading it. The pathetic efTect of that part 
which relates to the imprisonment of American seamen, it is impos- 
sible to describe. Men of both political parties, the friends and the 
foes of the orator, forgot their antipathies, and wept together. He 
concluded by saying, " We are told that England is a proud and 
lofty nation, which, disdaining to wait for danger, meets it half 
way. Haughty as she is, we once triumphed over her, and if we 
do not listen to the counsels of timidity and despair, we shall again 
prevail. In such a cause, with the aid of Providence, we must 
come out crowned with success ; but if we fail, let us fail like men, 
lash ourselves to our gallant tars, and expire together in one com- 
mon struggle, fighting for free trade and seamans' rights." 

The question of the admission of Missouri to the Union — a ques- 
tion embarrassed by the subject of slavery, created, in and out of 
Congress, an excitement perhaps unequalled in the political history 
of the country. The distracting question was finally settled, and 
the excitement allayed, principally by the skill and untiring exer 
tions of Henry Clay. His services in settling the fearful contro 
versy between South Carolina and the federal government, have 
already been treated of in a former chapter. [See p. 527.] 

The personal appearance of Mr. Clay is said to have been im- 
posing, yet highly prepossessing. He was tall, somewhat thin, 
but very muscular. His carriage was easy and graceful, and his 
manners dignified, cordial, and kind, without the slightest appear- 
ance of haughtiness. His open and expressive countenance mir- 
rored faithfully the feelings of his soul. His eyes were small, and 
of a blue or dark gray colour. His forehead was broad and high. 
His mouth was large, but strongly indicative of talent and energy. 
The tones of his voice were deep and silvery, and its modulatioc 
was exquisite As an orator, his claim to the highest rank is un 



ADMIOTSTEATIOISr OF FILLMOEE. 



635 



questionable. His control over Ms auditory, and his power of en- 
chaining their attention, were truly astonishing. His deliverv- was 
a perfect model of elocution. A gentleman who witnessed one oi 
his great efforts, says, " Every muscle of the orator's face was at 
work ; his whole body seemed agitated, as if each part were instinct 
with a separate life ; and his small white hand, with its blue veins 
apparently distended almost to bursting, moved gracefully, but with 
all the energy of rapid and vehement gesture. The appearance oi 
the speaker seemed that of a pure intellect, wrought up to its mighti- 
est energies, and brightly glowing through the thin and transparent 
veil of flesh that enrobed it." Whatever may be thought of !Mr. 
Clay's political views, it is evident that benevolence, sincerit}-, and 
patriotism, were prominent features of his character. 

F all those great statesmen and brilliant orators 
^A^'^ ^&^S^ k ^^^^ twenty years, have taken the lead 

in our national legislature, there were three to whom 
I common consent, it would seem, has assigned a 
pre-eminence above all others. Two of these had 
now passed away ; the third, and perhaps the 
greatest, was soon to follow his distinguished associates. The 
country was soon to lose the mightiest intellect that had ever 
watched over its interests and destinies. On Sunday morn- 
ing, October 24, 1852, Daniel Webster died at his residence 
in Marshfield, Massachusetts, in the Tlst year of his age. Retir- 
ing to his favourite country-seat, in order to recover his energies, 
which had been depressed by official labour and temporar\" indispo- 
sition, he was soon violently attacked with disease which, after a 
brief course, terminated in death. At the time of his decease, he 
was a member of the Cabinet, in which he occupied the position of 
Secretary of State. 

The family of Daniel Webster was of Scottish origin, but passed 
some time in England before the final emigration, Thomas Web- 
ster was settled at Hampton, on the coast of New Hampshire, as 
far back as 1636. Noah Webster, the learned philologist and lexi- 
cographer, was of a collateral branch of the family. Ebenezer Web- 
ster, the father of the orator, was a man of imposing appearance, and is 
described as erect, six feet in height, and broad and full in the chest, 
with a military air acquired from his long service in the wars. Early 
ID life, he enlisted as a common soldier in a company of rangers. 
The services of the rangers, it is well known, were of great import- 

3h 




ADMINISTRATION OF FILLMOKE. 




DANIEL WBBSTEB 



ance in the French and Indian wars. He followed Sir Jeffrey Am- 
herst in the invasion of Canada, gained the good will of his superior 
officers by his fidelity and bravery, and was advanced to the rank of 
captain before the termination of the war. After the close of the 
contest, Colonel Stevens, with some of his neighbours, procured of 
Benning Wentworth, the royal governor of New Hampshire, a grant 
of the town of Salisbury. Captain Webster was one of the settlers 
of the newly-granted township, and received an allotment in its nor 
them portion. Soon after his settlement in Salisbury, he married 
Abigail Eastman, his second wife, and the mother of Ezekiel and 
Daniel Webster, the only sons by his second marriage. He built a 
frame house near the log cabin which, it seems, he had previously 
inhabited. In this house, Daniel Webster was born on the 18th of 
January, 1782. In the Revolutionary War, not yet fully terminated, 
Captain Webster had served with distinction. He was at the battle 
of White Plains, acted as major under Stark at Bennington, and 
contributed his share to the success of the American commander. 
Mr. Webster's early opportunities for acquiring an "education were 



ADMINISTRATION OF FILLMOEE. 



637 



very limited. The district school of those days, when compared 
with' those of the presem time, was very defective. His first master 
was Thomas Chase, his second was James Tappan, who, it would 
seem from a letter of Mr. Webster, was living in Gloucester, Mass., 
as late as the early part of 1851. Some benefit was derived from a 
small library founded in Salisbury by his father, in conjunction with 
the clergyman, and Mr. Thomson, the lawyer of the place. In 
May, 1796, he entered the Academy at Exeter. The strength of 
his mental powers was even then apparent to an attentive observer. 
On entering the Academy, he was placed in the lowest class, con- 
sisting of a few boys of no great brightness of intellect. At the end 
of a month, after morning recitations, " Webster," says Mr. Emery, 
their instructor, " you will pass into the other room and join a higher 
class ;" adding, " Boys, you will take your final leave of Webster, 
you will never see him again." 

In February, 1797, he was placed under the care of the Rev. 
Samuel Wood, minister in the neighbouring town of Boscawen. On 
their way to Mr. Wood's, his father first disclosed to him his intention 
of sending him to college. " I remember," says Mr. Webster, " the 
very hill which we were ascending, through deep snows, in a New 
England sleigh, when my father made known this purpose to me. 
I could not speak. How could he, 1 thought, wiih so large a family, 
and in such narrow circumstances, think of incurring so great an ex- 
pense for me. A warm glow ran all over me, and I laid my head 
on my father's shoulder and wept." 

E completed his preparation for college with Mr. 
Wood, Here, too, he laid the foundation of his 
knowledge of the ancient classics, especially the 
Roman — a knowledge which he greatly increased 
in college, and preserved, during his active life, 
by constant recurrence to the great models of an- 
tiquity. He entered Dartmouth College in 1797. In 
1801, he commenced the study of law with Mr. Thomp- 
son, the next-door neighbour of his father. He remained 
until it became necessary to do something to obtain a 
little money. In this emergency, application was made to him to 
take charge of an academy at Fryeburgh, in Maine. In September, 
1802, he returned to the office of Mr. Thompson. In July, 1804, 
he resided in Boston, and before commencing the practice of law, 
pursued his studies for six or eight months in the office of the Hoii. 




638 ADMINISTEATION OF FILLMOEE. 

Christopher Gore, an eminent lawyer and statesman, distinguished 
for his sound judgment, practical good sense, and rare intellectual 
qualities. This golden opportunity was not thrown away upon Mr. 
Webster. 

When about to be admitted to practice in the Suffolk Court of 
Common Pleas, he was offered the vacant clerkship in the Court of 
Common Pleas in the county of Hillsborough, N.H. The fees of the 
office were about $1500 a year. They would have afforded a cer- 
tain support in place of a doubtful prospect, and would have enabled 
him at once to bring comfort into his father's family. He was will- 
ing to sacrifice his hopes of future eminence to the welfare of those 
so dear ; but Mr. Gore, unwilling to consent to such a loss, suc- 
ceeded in persuading him to refuse the office. In the spring of 
1805, young Webster was admitted to the practice of law in the 
Court of Common Pleas for Suffolk county, Massachusetts. His 
father was now associate judge in the Court of Common Pleas in 
Hillsborough county, New Hampshire. Judge Webster lived but a 
year after this — long enough, however, to hear his son's first argu- 
ment in court, and to be gratified by the cheering indications of his 
future success. After practising a short time at Boscawen, our 
young lawyer removed to Portsmouth, where he continued the busi- 
ness of his profession for nine years. During this period, he de- 
voted himself, without remission, to the study and practice of law. 
He seems to have risen almost immediately to the head of his pro- 
fession in that part of the country. 

N November, 1812, he was elected to Congress, 
and took his seat at the first session of the Thirteenth 
Congress — an extra session called in May, 1813. 
Here he rose at once to an equality with the most 
distinguished members. His first speech, delivered 
on the 10th of June, 1813, took the House by sur- 
Men left their seats in order to see the speaker face 
and sat down, or stood on the floor, fronting him. 
sn, in almost breathless silence, to the whole speech, 
being over, many persons, among whom are some 
who widely dissent from his views, warmly compliment and con- 
gratulate the orator. 

The project for a Bank of the United States — a project introduced 
about this time into the House, was opposed by Mr. Webster, Cal- 
houn, and Lowndes, mainly on the ground that, to enable the bank 




ADMINISTRATION OF FILLMORE. 



639 



to exist under the conditions specified, it was relieved from the 
necessity of redeeming its notes in specie ; in other words, it was 
an arrangement to issue an irredeemable paper currency. During 
the greater part of the year 1815, Mr. Webster was busily engaged 
in the practice of law. Though he had his share of employment in 
New Hampshire, it did not furnish an adequate support for his in- 
creasing family. The destruction of his house, furniture, and 
library, with many of his manuscripts, by the great fire at Portsmouth, 
in December, 1813, rendered his exertions necessary in order to 
meet his increasing expenses. In the Fourteenth Congress, he was 
instrumental in procuring the passage of a resolution which restored 
to a sound basis the currency of the country. 

That Mr. Webster is entitled to rank with the greatest orators 
either of ancient or modern times, will never be successfully dis- 
puted. His speech in reply to Mr. Hayne, delivered in the Senate 
chamber of the United States, January 26, 1830, is generally con- 
sidered as his greatest effort. The accounts which writers have 
given of the eloquence of Demosthenes, Cicero, Sheridan, Phillips, 
Henry, and Ames, were stripped of their seeming extravagance ; 
and the wonderful and Soul-subduing effects of their oratory were 
again renewed. " Of the effectiveness of Mr. Webster's manner in 
many parts," says Mr. Everett, " it is impossible to give any one 
not present the faintest idea. It has been my fortune to hear some 
of the ablest speeches of the greatest living orators on both sides of 
the water, but I must confess I never heard any thing which so com- 
pletely realized my conception of what Demosthenes was when he 
delivered the Oration for the Crown." 

S he went through the magnificent peroration, his 
countenance glowed as if he were inspired. His 
voice, exerted to its utmost power, penetrates every 
recess of the Senate, and even the ante-rooms and 
stairways, as he pronounces, in deepest tones of 
pathos, these words of solemn significance : " When 
my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last time, the sun 
in heaven, may I not see him shining upon the broken and 
dishonoured fragments of a once glorious Union ; on States 
dissevered, discordant, belligerent ; on a land rent with civil 
feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood ! Let their last 
feeble and lingering glance rather behold the gorgeous ensign of the 
republic, now known and honoured throughout the earth, still full 
41 3h2 




640 



ADMINISTEATION OF FTLLMOEE. 



high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their original lus- 
tre, not a stripe erased or polluted, nor a single star obscured, bearing 
for its motto no such miserable interrogatory as, ' What is all this 
worth V nor those other words of delusion and folly, ' Liberty first 
and Union afterwards ;' but everywhere, spread all over in charac- 
ters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over 
the sea and over the land, and in every wind under the whole 
heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every American heart — LiB' 

ERTY AND UnION, NOW AND FOREVER, ONE AxXD INSEPARABLE!" 

The last words of the lamented Webster are contained in the 
exclamation, " I still live !" In their noblest sense, how emphatic 
are these words ! how forcible, how eloquent, how impressive, and 
how true ! Yes, indeed, he still lives, the mightiest of our mighty 
intellects I — lives in the glowing words of his own immortal pages 
— lives, and will live, in the gratitude and admiration of mankind to 
the latest generations ! Clay, Calhoun, Webster — immortal and 
glorious triumvirate ! worthy of being named with Chatham, Cicero, 
and Demosthenes — your eloquent voices are hushed in death ; but 
ihe memory and benefits of your services and patriotism " still live," 
ind, let us hope, will live forever 




HON. 



FRANKLIN PIERCE. 



CHAPTEE JAY. 

ADMINISTRATION OF FEANKLIN PIEECE. 

HE approaching expiration of Mr. Fillmore's term 
of service turned the attention of the people to the 
election of his successor, and induced a preparation 
for one of those periodical exercises of popular 
power which form the distinguishing features of 
this free and happy republic. The first nomination 
lm \ of a candidate was made by the democratic party, assembled 
in national convention at Baltimore, in June, 1852. It was 
with great difficulty, and after a protracted session, that a 
candidate could be agreed upon, in consequence of the num- 
ber of prominent statesmen whose names were presented, and whose 
pretensions were adhered to w4th ^eat tenacity by their respective 
supporters. Among them were Lewis Cass, of Michigan, William 
Ij. Marcy, of New York, James Buchanaii, of Pennsylvania, Stephen 
A. Douglas, of Illinois, General Butler, of Kentucky, and General 
Houston, of Texas — all men of great ability and experience, and of 
undoubted fidelity to the party ; men, too, some of whom had con- 
ferred distinguished honor on the American name abroad by their 
brilliant diplomacy, and at home had acquired a high national lepu- 

641 




642 



ADMINISTRATION OF PIEECE. 




tation by llieir civil and militar\' services. Being unable to unite 
upon either of these, it w^as finally found advisable to take up a new 
name, and, on the forty-ninth ballot, a very nearly unanimous selec- 
tion was made in the person of General Franklin Pierce, of New 
Hampshire — the ballots being 283 for Pierce, 1 for Marcy, 2 for 
Buchanan, and 2 for Cass. With much greater facility, Col. Wm. 
R. King, of Alabama, formerly U. S. Senator from that State, and 
at the time Acting-President of the U. S. Senate, was selected as 
the candidate for Vice-President. 

HE Whig Convention followed shortly after, in the 
same month, in Baltimore, and experienced similar 
difficulty in arriving at a choice of a candidate. 
The wishes of a large majority of the party were 
'ery nearly divided between a re-nomination of Mr 
Fillmore and the selection of Gen. Winfield Scott ; 
while a small portion of the delegates favoured the nomination 
of Mr. Webster. On the fifty-third ballot, the choice, by a 
small majority of votes, fell upon General Scott ; and Wm. 
A. Graham, of North Carolina, was nominated for the Vice 
Presidency. 

The Free-Soil party put forth, as their presidential candidate, the 
Hon. John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, and the ultra Anti-Slavery 
party also organized under distinct leaders. 

Thus marshalled, the various parties engaged in the political con- 
test. After an animated canvass, the election was held simultane- 
ously in every State of the Union, on Tuesday, the 2d day of No- 
vember, and resulted in favour of the democratic candidates. The 
electoral college consisted of 296 members, of which 254 were for 
Franklin Pierce, and 42 for Winfield Scott. By States, Gen. Pierce 
leceived the votes of 27 States, and Gen. Scott of 4. No more de- 
cisive election has been held in this country of late years. The 
second election of Gen. Jackson, in 1832, and the election of Gen. 
Harrison, in 1840, are the nearest approaches to it in point of unani- 
mity 

Not long before his inauguration, the family of the President elect 
was called upon to submit to a most awful and heart-rending dispen- 
sation of Providence. By one of those fearful railroad accidents, of 
iate quite too common in this country, they were summoned to weep 
over the remains of a beloved son, a youth of the most promising 
talents, and, for many reasons, an object of particular affection. The 



ADMINISTEATION OF PIEECE. 



643 




people throughout the Union, and others elsewhere, were deeply 
alfected by this event, and shared sincerely in the sorrows of the 
afflicted family. 

T is perhaps unnecessary to attempt an analysis of 
the differences which existed between the two lead- 
ing parties of the country" at this time, or of the 
causes which led to the political result just recorded. 
Really, there would seem to have been few ques- 
tions at issue leading to partisan division or calling 
for partisan support. On the question of the compromise 
measures, so called, including the Fugitive Slave Law, 
intended as a settlement of the late sectional disputes 
which agitated the country, both parties were agreed, and so 
distinctly set forth in their respective resolutions, or " platforms," 
adopted in convention. Indeed, adherence to these measures was 
considered a sine qva non of successful political action, and no can- 
didate could have received a nomination from either party who was 
Known to be opposed to them. The Bank and Tariff issues, the 
former long " obsolete," and the latter practically useless, as public 
opinion ran, no longer entered into the canvass ; or the latter, if at 
all, to a very limited degree. On the subject of Internal Improve- 
ments, the old party landmarks were still perceptible, it is true ; but 
there was little or no effort to make political capital out of this ques- 
tion. Even on the score of military popularity, which heretofore is 
supposed to have exercised a preponderating influence in favour of 
particular candidates, both parties were very nearly matched — each 
candidate being possessed of a military reputation ; the advantage 
indeed being with the candidate of the party which was destined to 
defeat, whose military laurels had been long worn, having been won 
in many a hard-fought battle and brilliant achievement in the service 
of his country. The election, in its result, seems rather to have 
been determined by other causes than these. Popular dissatisfac- 
tion with the policy of the existing whig administration in regard to 
the foreign relations of the country — prejudice created by an alleged 
prodigality in the use of the public funds, and indiscretion in the 
allowance of doubtful claims — together with that periodical desire 
of change which to a marked degree affects the popular mind, and 
characterizes our national elections ; these, with other causes even 
less directly related to the usual political issues, appear to have led 
to the success of the democratic party. Whatever of justice there 



ADMINISTRATION OF PEEECE. 



may have been in the above specified charges, as a whole it cannot 
be denied that President Fillmore secured to himself a large share 
of popular respect, and retired from office having earned the reputa- 
tion of a discreet and able executive chief. 

^^^gljjTjpRANKLIN PIERCE, thus virtually President- 
*^^^^H||^ elect of the United States, was born, of revolution- 
^^^^Bil if ancestors, in the town of Hillsborough, New 
^^^IffPt^ Hampshire, on the 23d day of November, 1804; 
^ny^^^a^fv^^ he was therefore 48 years of age at the time of his 
z^^^^Sr election. Having served his native State with 

fidelity and reputation in various capacities, he was in the 
summer of 1833 elected to Congress, taking his seat in the 
A house in December of the same year. In 1837, he was 
elected to the U. S. Senate. His congressional career, though 
comparatively brief, reflected credit upon his talents as a statesman 
and orator. In the important discussions which occupied the atten- 
tion of Congress during this period, we find him taking a conspicu- 
ous part, and rendering an undeviating support to the measures of 
the party with which he was identified. He resigned his seat in 
the Senate before the expiration of the term for which he was 
elected, preferring the quietude of domestic and professional life to 
the turbulent arena of national politics at Washington. He also, for 
the same cause, refused the office of Attorney-General of the United 
States, which was profl'ered him by President Polk. The break- 
ing out of the Mexican War found him at home engaged in the avo- 
cations of a private citizen. When the call for Volunteers was 
made, he immediately enlisted for the war, taking the field with the 
rank of brigadier-general, in connection with the Ninth, or New 
England Regiment, which during the contest so signalized itself 
for its gallant deeds. At the close of hostilities he resigned his 
commission, and returned to his former privacy in New Hampshire. 
The official reports of the war all bear honourable testimony to the 
bravery and active military services of General Pierce; and it is * 
not to be doubted that a recollection of his patriotic conduct in de- 
voting himself to the service of his country in this emergency con- 
tributed materially to the creation of that popularity by which he 
was eventually enabled to attain to the highest office in the gift of 
he people. 

Mr. King, the successful candidate for the Vice-Presidency, on 
he same ticket with Mr. Pierce, had long acquired a national 



ADMTN-ISTEATION OF PIERCE. 



645 



reputation, having been more than thirty years in the public service 
nnd for many years the presiding officer of the U. S. Senate. 

On the 9th of February, 1853, the votes of the Electoral College 
were counted and declared in Congress, and the election of the 
successful candidates officially announced ; and on the ensuing 4th 
of March Mr. Pierce was publicly inaugurated in Washington, and 
took the oath of office as President of the United States. 

His inaugural address on the occasion was anxiously looked for, 
and received with general satisfaction by the people. So judicious 
and unexceptionable were its sentiments, and so truly American was 
It in character, that it met with nearly universal commendation from 
the press of all parties. It fully realized in its pledges and doctrines 
the expectations of the party instriimental in elevating him to power, 
and by its just and discreet tone conciliated, in a marked degree, 
the favour of the opposition. 

HIS important paper, foreshadowing as it does the 
general policy of President Pierce's administration, 
and presenting the views and intentions of the gov- 
ernment in relation to some of the most important 
subjects connected with the welfare of the country, 
at an interesting juncture of its histor}", demands 
^ that we bestow upon it more than a cursory notice. We 
^^A^ shall, therefore, proceed to speak of it in detail. 

W^ith an expression of thanks for the manifestation of the 
^ nation's confidence in his elevation to a position of so great 
responsibility — one not sought, but accepted in obedience to the 
popular will — he proceeds to speak of the country's unparalleled 
progression in territory, population, and wealth. The stars upon our 
banner have become nearly three-fold their original number, ou? 
densely populated possessions skirt the shores of the two great 
oceans, and yet, he adds, this vast increase of people and territory 
has not only shown itself comp';tible with the harmonious action of 
the States and the federal government in their respective constitu 
tional spheres, but has afforded an additional guarantee of the 
strength and integrity of both. This noble result is to be attributed 
to the wisdom and energy of the early founders of the republic 
They possessed a calm faith, springmg from a clear view of the 
sources of power, in a government constituted like ours. They 
proved themselves equal to the solution of the great problem, to 
understand which their minds had been illuminated by the dawniug 
41 




646 



ADMINISl RATION OF PIERCE. 



lights of the revolution. The object sought was not a thing dreamed 
of; it was a thing realized. They had exhiliiled not only the powei 
»o achieve, but what all history affirms to be so much more unusual 
the capacity to maintain. The oppressed throughout the world 
from that day to the present, have turned their eyes hitherward, nol 
to find those lights extinguished, or to fear lest they should wane, 
hut to be constantly cheered by their steady and increasing radi 
ance. In this our country has, in the President's judgment, thus fai 
fulfilled its highest duty to suffering humanity. It has spoken, and 
will continue to speak, not only by its words but by its acts, the lan- 
guage of sympathy and encouragement to those who earnestly listen 
to its tones, which pronounce for the largest rational liberty. Rut 
pre-eminently the power of our advocacy reposes in our example ; 
though it should be remembered that no example can be powerful 
for lasting good, whatever apparent advantages may be gained, which 
is not based upon eternnl principles of right and justice. 

fN view of the past experience of the country, show- 
ing that its extension has not militated with its 
well-being, but, on the contrary, has but added to 
its strength and prosperity, the President declares 
that the policy of his administration will not be con- 
trolled by any timid forebodings of evil from a still 
expansion. And evidently having in his eye the ac- 
^ n of Cuba, proceeds to remark : " Indeed, it is not lo 

be disguised that our attitude as a nation, and our position on 
^ the globe, render the acquisition of certain possessions not 
within our jurisdiction, eminently important for our protection, if not, 
in the future, essential for the preservation of the rights of commerce 
and the peace of the world. Should they be obtained, it. will be 
through no grasping spirit, but with a view to obvious national in- 
terest and security, and in a manner entirely consistent with the 
strictest observance of national faith. We have nothing in our hisr 
tory or position to invite aggression ; we have every thing to beckon 
us to the cultivation of the relations of peace and amity with all 
nations. Purposes, therefore, at once just and pacific, will be sig- 
nificantly marked in the conduct of our foreign affairs." He declares 
further, that no act within the legitimate scope of his constitutional 
control will be tolerated, on the part of any portion of our citizens, 
which cannot challenge a ready justification before the tribunal of 
he civilized world ; and adds, that an administration would be un 



ADMINISTRATION OF PIERCE. 



647 



worthy of confidence at home, or respect abroad, should it cease to 
be influenced by the conviction, that no apparent advantage can be 
purchased at a price so dear as that of national wrong or dishonour. 
These observations, so distinctly and significantly made, display the 
intentions of the administration in regard to the mode in which the 
acquisition of Cuba shall be made, should, during its term of office, 
Buch an acquisition ever be practicable. They preclude the idea of 
force and unjust seizure, or the supposition that any armed expedi- 
tion from this country, having in view the conquest and subsequent 
annexation of Cuba, would meet with greater tolerance than under 
an administration more professedly conservative. The vague fears 
which may have been apprehended upon this subject, consequent 
upon the triumph of the party avowedly the fast friends of territorial 
extension, and particularly of Cuban annexation, have, therefore, by 
the declarations of President Pierce's Inaugural, been thoroughly 
dispelled. Cuba, if ever she becomes affiliated with this country, 
must become so under circumstances perfectly consistent with our 
national faith and honour. 

HE policy of this country, in the opinion of Presi- 
dent Pierce, should be eminently peaceful, and, 
with the neighbouring nations upon our continent, 
we should cultivate kindly and fraternal relations 
If we should open new channels of trade, and 
create additional facilities for friendly intercourse, 
the benefits realized will be open to all. With the politics oi 
Europe we have no connection, except as they appeal to our 
sympathies in the cgiuse of human freedom and universal ad- 
vancement ; but the vast interests of commerce are common to 
all mankind. 

The President proceeds to lay down the ground in regard to 
another important subject affecting the rights and interests of Ameri- 
can citizens, viz. : the degree of protection to be extended over them 
by the government, in whatever part of the world they may happen 
to be. This question, important at all times, has, in consequence of 
recent events, been made to assume an unusual interest. Shall the 
American citizen, like the Roman of old, feel that his citizenship 
shall be a broad and sufficient shield, protecting him from injustice 
and wrong wherever he may go ? that his rights shall be respected, 
and his life and liberty be safe, in any part of the civilized world ? 
The answer is. Yes ; the honour of the country demands that this 

81 8 1 




648 



ADMINISTRATION OF PIEECE. 



doctrine be distinctly understood, and strictly enforced. The deci- 
sive language which follows relating to this point, elicited the warm 
approval of the whole country, and constituted one of the most bril- 
liant passages of the President's Inaugural : " The rights which 
belong to us as a nation are not alone to be regarded, but those 
which pertain to every citizen in his individual capacity, at home 
and abroad, must be sacredly maintained. So long as he can dis- 
cern every star in its place upon that ensign, without wealth to pur- 
chase for him prefermerit or title to secure for him place, it will be 
his privilege, and must be his acknowledged right, to stand unabashed 
even in the presence of princes, with a proud consciousness that he 
is himself one of a nation of sovereigns, and that he cannot, in a 
legitimate pursuit, wander so far from home, that the agent whom 
he shall leave behind in the place which I now occupy, will not see 
that no rude hand of power, or tyrannical passion, is laid upon him 
with impunity. He must realize, that upon every sea and on every 
soil where our enterprise may rightfully seek the protection of our 
flag, American citizenship is an inviolable panoply for the security 
of American rights." 

^^agtf!feisa^ PON another subject of equal importance, and 
which has at difl^erent periods called forth an ex- 
^M^f fPI pression of the sentiments of the American people, 
W^ ^^B namely, the doctrine first laid down by Mr. Monroe, 
&^mmm^ in opposition to European colonization upon this 
^ continent, the President declares, that " it can 

hardly be necessary to reaffirm a principle which should now 
be regarded as fundamental. The rights, security, and repose 
of this confederacy, reject the idea of interference or coloniza- 
tion on this side of the ocean by any foreign power, beyond 
present jurisdiction, as utterly inadmissible." The late events con- 
nected with British interference in portions of Central America, and 
the attempt to set up a sort of protectorate over the Mosquito coun- 
try, so called, seem to have revived public interest in this question, 
and to have suggested the emphatic language of the President. The 
subject has given rise to very important debates in Congress, to 
which we may have occasion to refer in future pages. 

Passing from the foreign to the domestic policy of the country, 
the views of the Inaugural are worthy of consideration. Upon the 
subject of the bestowal of Executive patronage, the doctrine held is, 
that while it cannot be reasonably expected that the administration 



ADMTNISTEATION OF PIEECE. 



649 



will be so regardless of its responsibility, and of the obvious ele- 
ments of success, as to retain persons known to be opposed to it in 
positions which require not only severe labor, but cordial co-opera- 
tion, yet no appointments shall be made which do not contemplate 
an efficient discharge of duty and the best interests of the country. 
Against the dangers of an undue concentration of power in the general 
government, the President is also very explicit. The great scheme 
of our constitutional liberty rests upon a proper distribution of power 
between the State and federal authorities ; and experience has 
shown that the harmony and happiness of our people must depend 
upon a just discrimination between the separate rights and responsi- 
bilities of the States, and our common rights and obligations under 
the general government. If the federal government will confine 
itself to the exercise of powers clearly granted by the constitution, 
it can hardly happen that its action upon any question should en- 
danger the institutions of the States, or interfere with their right to 
manage matters strictly domestic according to the will of their own 
people. 

f^^fS^^bSm President proceeds to express his entire devo- 
'^^^^liP m tion to the Union, which, as it has been the source, 
ife^^Ri^" under Providence, of our prosperity to this time, so 
St'^k'^f^Bii^' it is the surest pledge of a continuance of the bless- 
I^^Il '^^^S^^ ings we have enjoyed, and which we are sacredly 
bound to transmit undiminished to our children. 

iMl every theory of society or government, whether the ofT- 
fl§k^ spring of feverish ambition or of morbid enthusiasm, calculated 

n|l to dissolve the bonds of law and aifection which unite us, he 
shall interpose a ready and stern resistance. He believes 
that involuntary servitude, as it exists in different States of this con- 
federacy is recognized by the Constitution ; that it stands like any 
other admitted right, and that the States where it exists are entitled 
to efficient remedies to enforce the constitutional remedies. He 
holds, therefore, that the measures of 1850, commonly called the 
*' compromise measures," are strictly constitutional, and to be un- 
hesitatingly carried into effect ; and that the laws to enforce them 
should be respected and obeyed, not with a reluctance encouraged 
by abstract opinions as to their propriety in a different state of 
society, but cheerfully, and according to the decisions of the tri- 
bunal to which their exposition belongs. Thus warning against dis- 
union, and appealing to the moderation and sense of justice of all 



650 



ADMESnSTEATION OF PIEKCE. 



classes of our citizens, the Inaugural closes with the hope, most elo- 
quently expressed, that the kind Providence which smiled upon out 
fathers, may enable their children to preserve the blessings they 
have inherited. 

The President, on the 7th of March, submitted the names of the 
persons constituting his cabinet to the Senate, assembled in extra 
sesSiOn, which immediately confirmed the nominations, as follows : 

For Secretary of State, Wm. L. Maecy, of New York. 

** Secretary of the Treasury, Ja^ies Guthrie, of Kentucky. 

** Secretary of the Interior,.... Robert McClelland, of Michigan. 

** Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi. 

* Secretary of the Navy, James C. Dobbin, of North Carolina. 

Postmaster-General, James Campbell, of Pennsylvania. 

" Attorney-General, Caleb Cushing, of Massachusetts. 

These are all gentlemen of ability and experience in statesmanship. 
Mr. Marcy was a member of President Polk's cabinet, holding the 
position of Secretaiy of War, and distinguishing himself in his 
management of that department during the combat with Mexico. 
He was also, formerly. Governor of the State of New York. Mr. 
Guthrie is a distinguished lawyer, and experienced as a politican. 
Mr. McClelland was former Governor of Michigan, and has served 
in Congress. General Davis took an active part ^n the Mexican 
War, and has also been a member of Congress. Mr. Dobbin was a 
member of the 29th Congress. Mr. Campbell was a leading politi 
cian and Attorney-General of the State of Pennsylvania. Gen, 
Cushing is distinguished for his diplomacy as Chinese Commis 
sioner, and his services during the Mexican War. 

Of the subsequent appointments by the President during the year 
the following list embraces the more important foreign oiSicials : 

MINISTERS PLENIPOTENTIARY. 

James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, to Great Britain. 

Thomas H. Seymour, of Connecticut, to Russia, 

John Y. Mason, of Virginia, to France, 

James Gadsden, of South Carolina, to Mexico, 

Pierre A. Soule, of Louisiana, to Spaia 

Peter D. Vboom, of New Jersey, to Prussia. 

Solon Borland, of Arkansas, to Central America. 

"Wm. Trousdale, of Tennessee, to Brazil. 

Samuel Medart, of Ohio, to Chili 

John K Clat, of Kentucky, to Peru. 

Theodore S. Fay, Minister Resident in SwitzerlanA 



ADMINISTRATION OF PIERCE. 



651 



CHARGE d'affaires. 

J, J. Seibels, of Ala., for Belgium. 
AuGUSTE Belmont, of New York, for Netherlands. 
Richard K. Meade, of Virginia, for Sardinia. 
RoBEET Dale Owen, of Indiana, for the Two Sicilies. 
Henry R. Jackson, of Georgia, for Austria. 
Henry Bedinger, of Virginia, for Denmark. 
Wm. H. Bissell, of Illinois, for Buenos Ayres. 
James S. Green, of Mobile, for New Grenada. 
Shelton F. Leake, (»f Virginia, for Sandwich Islands. 




MONO the last acts of the previous session o 
Congress was the adoption of a resolution empower- 
ing the President to employ engineers to make ex- 
lorations of the most practicable route for a rail- 
road connecting the States with the Pacific shores, 
and appropriating the sum of i>l 50,000 for the sur- 
vey. Accordingly, four expeditions were fitted out in the 
course of the year, under experienced officers, having in 
view this important object. Two other expeditions were 
also dispatched during the same period, by water, having 
other, but also important objects in vieM . The first sailed from 
New York on the 31st of May, under the command of Dr. Kane, in 
continuation of the search for Sir John Franklin ; and the other 
sailed a few days later from Norfolk, under the command of Captain 
Ringgold, having for its object an exploration of the routes pursued 
by American vessels trading between San Francisco and China, and 
of the whaling grounds in the North Pacific. 

The return of Santa Anna to power in the neighbouring republic 
of Mexico, in March, and his supposed feelings of hostility to the 
United States, taken in connection with the breaking out of a diffi- 
culty between the American Governor of New Mexico, Gen. Lane, 
and the Governor of the Mexican State of Chihuahua, for a time 
gave indications of another rupture between the two nations. It 
appears that a tract of country, known as the Mesilla Valley, about 
175 miles by 40 in extent, and situate on the borders of New Mexico, 
though mutually claimed under the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo by 
both the United States and Mexico, had been assigned by the join 
Boundary Commission to the latter country. This tract was, how 
ever, forcibly taken possession of by General Lane on the 13th of 
March, " to be held provisionally," as he declared, " until the ques 

3i2 



653 



ADMINISTRATION OF PIERCE. 




tion of boundary shall be determined between the United States and 
Mexico." The measure was resisted by the Governor of Chihua 
hua, and the territory claimed as belonging to that State. The 
question has occupied the attention of both governments concerned 
in its peaceful adjudication. 

N the 18th of April, 1853, the Hon. William R. 
King, Vice-President of the United States, died at 
Cahawba, in Alabama On the meeting of Con- 
u^ress, in December of the previous year, though in 
feeble health, he assumed his post as presiding 
officer of the Senate, a position he had filled dur- 
ling the previous administration. Increasing illness, how- 
ever, compelled him to resign office, and in a letter dated 
December "iOth, his intention was communicated to the Senate. 
He soon after set sail for the West Indies, in the hope of 
improving his health. By -pecial resolution of Congress, he. was 
permitted to take the oath of office as Vice-President of the United 
States during his absence ; a ceremony which was performed on the 
4th of March, near Matanzas, in Cuba, where he at the time was 
sojourning. Finding himself fast failing in health, in April he took 
passage in a United States vessel, and arrived at Mobile on the r2th 
of the month, where he was received with deep respect and mourn- 
ful interest by his fellow-citizens. Journeying on to Cahawba, he 
was forced to his bed, and died the next day, surrounded by his 
family and friends. The intelligence was heard with profound re- 
gret throughout the countr}', and various official and spontaneous 
manifestations of public sorrow followed in honour of the deceased. 
A brief biographical sketch of this distinguished statesman will not 
be deemed inappropriate. William Rufus King w^as bom in Samp- 
son County, North Carolina, on the 7th of April, 1786; he was 
therefore 67 years of age when he died. After representing the 
Wilmington district, in North Carolina, several terms in the lowei 
house of Congress, he changed his residence to Alabama, then a 
Territory. W^hen Alabama came in as a State, in 1819, Mr. King 
«vas elected one of her U. S. Senators — a position he has continued 
o fill most of the time since, with distinction and much personal 
popularity. In 1844, he accepted the post of Minister to France, 
proffered by Mr. Tyler, whence he was recalled, at his own re- 
4uest, in 1846, having distinguished his mission by the success of 
his negotiations with the French government, which had contem- 



ADMIXISTKATION OF PIEECE. 



653 




plated uniting with Great Britain in a protest against the annexation 
of Texas to the Union. Upon the elevation of Mr. Fillmore to the 
presidency, in 1850, Mr. King, again in the Senate from Alabama, 
was chosen President pro. tern, of that body — a position he had held 
on several occasions before. His nomination and election to the 
vice-presidency, as the candidate of the democratic party, in 1852. 
was the last and highest honour to which he attained ; and it seemed 
a matter of deep regret that he could not have li'^ed to enjoy a posi- 
tion so meetly the reward of a long life devoted to the interests of 
his country. Mr. King is the third Vice-President who has died in 
office. The two others were George Clinton, who died in April, 
1812, and Eibridge Gerry, who died m November, 1814. 

' HE Great Exhibition of the World's Industry at 
London, in 1851, led to the determination among a 
^ number of the prominent citizens of Xew York to 
m get up a similar enterprise in this country ; and a 
company for that purpose was organized, under a 
charter from the State of New York, granted in 
March, 1852. Measures were then immediately taken to en- 
list the people of the various States in the undertaking, and 
also to procure the co-operation of foreign countries, by for- 
warding for exhibition specimens of the industry of their re- 
spective nations. The enterprise was of a purely private character, 
unlike the British Exhibition, which was national in its character, 
and supported by the influence and resources of the government. 
The only aid which the American enterprise has received from our 
government, is the permission to regard their building as a bonded 
warehouse, wherein the foreign articles may be introduced duty free 
while on exhibition. The undertaking, from its inception, was 
urosecuted with vigour, and, despite a variety of obstacles to be 
overcome, the edifice for the designed object was in readiness 
for use, and the Exhibition itself inaugurated on the 14th of July, 
1S53. 

On that day. the American " Crystal Palace" was opened with 
appropriate ceremonies, in the presence of 8,000 persons assembled 
on the interesting occasion. The President of the United States, 
with a portion of his cabinet, honoured the inauguration with his 
presence. The exercises were impressive, and consisted of the 
reading of prayer by Bishop Wainwright, of New York, addresses 
hy the President of the Association, Theodore Sedgwick, Esq., and 



654: 



ADMINISTRATION OF PIERCE. 



the President of the United States, and singing by the New York 
Sacred Harmonic Society. 

in its main features this building, though inferior in size to that of 
the World's Exhibition in London, was universally confessed to be its 
superior in architectural beauty and general effect. It was, with the 
exception of the floor, entirely constructed of iron and glass, and in 
the form of a Greek cross, surmounted by a dome at the intersection. 
Each diameter of the cross was 365 feet long, and each arm of the 
cross, on the ground plan, 149 feet broad. On entering the building, 
the observer's eye was greeted by the vista of an arched nave, 41 feet 
wide, 67 feet high, and 365 long; and, on approaching the centre, he 
found himself under a dome 100 feet in diameter and 118 feet high. 
The building contained on the ground floor 111,000 square feet of 
space, and in its galleries, which were 54 feet wide, 62,000 square feet 
mere, making a total area of 173,000 square feet, or about four acres 
surface for the purposes of exhibition. The iron used in the work 
was estimated at about 1,250 tons ; the glass at 39,000 square feet. 

The great increase of the means of intercommunication by rail- 
roads, and the consequent public and private advantage accruing 
therefrom to the country, have been in a measure counterbalanced by 
the large number of appalling disasters which have occurred, through 
unforeseen accident or the carelessness of the managers of the roads, 
A collision took place on the 23d of April, near Chicago, between the 
trains of the Central Michigan and Northern Indiana Railroads, by 
which twenty persons were killed, and a large number seriously in- 
jured. On the 2d of August an accident occurred on the Belvidere 
and Delaware Railroad, by the cars running off the track. Ten per- 
sons were killed outright, and a large number wounded. A little later 
in the month a collision occurred between the New York and Phila- 
delphia trains, near Amboy, by which nearly thirty persons were in- 
jured, and several killed. On the 12th of the month a shocking dis- 
aster occurred on the Providence and Worcester Railroad. A train 
containing a large pleasure party came in collision with another, and 
some fifteen persons were killed, and a large number injured. But ^ 
the most appalling accident of this nature occurred on the 6th of May, 
at Norwalk, in Connecticut, on the New York and New Haven Rail- 
road. The drawbridge at Norwalk had been raised to permit a 
steamer to pass, and the locomotive, baggage car, and two passenger 
cars of the train from New York were precipitated into the river be- 
low, a distance of some twenty feet, and all the passengers buried be- 
neath the water, nearly all of whom were instantly killed or drowned 



ADMINISTEATION OF PIERCE. 



655 



sefore assistance could reach them. It appeared from the subse(^uent 
evidence taken before a jury of inquest, that the draw of the bridge 
was open, and that the proper signal was given by the keeper of the 
bridge ; but the engineer did not observe the signal, and proceeded 
with the train, realizing the fatal result that followed. More than fifty 
lives were lost, and as many more injured. The legislature of Connec- 
ticut, being in session at the time of the disaster, appointed a special 
committee to investigate the subject, and to report a more stringent 
public enactment for the regulation of railroads. A law of this nature 
was passed; and public attention having been generally aroused to the 
subject, similar action has been taken by the legislatures of other 
States. The following is believed to be a nearly accurate estimate of' 
the number of railroad accidents which occurred in the United States 



in 1853. 

Months. Nvmb&r of AceidmU. Killed. Womided. 

January 12 25 40 

February 6 6 11 

March 14 62 

AprQ 4 25 54 

May 8 54 49 

June 5 6 19 

July 11 8 22 

August 5 29 16 

Total to August 12, 65 177 333 



During the summer of 1854 the yellow fever visited the southern 
portion of the Union, more especially the city of New Orleans, and in 
'55 it concentrated its deadly power in and around the cities of Ports- 
mouth and Norfolk, Virginia. 

Its fatality exceeded that caused by the Asiatic cholera, when that 
terrible visitant swept over the country. In its virulence, it was neveif 
exceeded, particularly in the above-named cities, where, in the height 
of its fury, the deaths were from 200 to 300 per day. 

Thousands who had passed unscathed through the epidemic in other 
seasons, took alarm and fled. But, notwithstanding the desertion of^ 
the population, the whole number of deaths in New Orleans wag 
about 9000 ! and the burials in Portsmouth and Norfolk could not 
have been less. 

Priest and people, physician and patient, nurse and sick, were 
thrown into one common grave. The formalities of burial were laid 
aside, and scarcely were the semblances of respect maintained. 

This lamentable state of things excited the sympathies of the nation, 
and the contributions for the relief of the sick and dying, and for the 



656 



ADMINISTRATION OF PIERCE. 



helpless and orphan children, were large and cheerful. Although the 
law of self-preservation blockaded the avenues of departure, yet thou- 
sands found themselves welcomed to the hospitalities and comforts of 
the benevolent and generous-minded, who, braving the dangers of the 
contagion, allayed their fears, and supplied them with the necessaries 
of life. Among those who volunteered their lives and property in this 
angelic mission, there were many instances of almost superhuman en- 
durance and philanthropy. Around their memories cluster not only 
the gratitude of the saved, but the responsive approval of the good 
everywhere. 

The leading events in the United States in 1854, were the final set- 
tlement of the Erie riots, the mission of Bedini, the Pope's Nuncio, 
the burning of the Great Republic, and the wreck of the steamer San 
Francisco, with 500 United States troops on board, 150 of whom were 
rescued by the ships Three Bells, Kilby, and Antarctic ; also, the con- 
cession of Morse's telegraph patent, and the horrible loss of the Col- 
lins steamship Arctic, by collision with the French steamer Vesta, 40 
miles from Cape Race, with the loss of 325 lives. 

The leading events in 1855, were the Burlington and Gasconade 
Bridge Railroad disasters, and the return of Dr. Kane and his party, 
Oct. 11th. His reception was enthusiastic, and well calculated to en- 
courage future navigators. The news of their arrival spread on light- 
ning wings, and made the heart of the nation beat with gratitude. The 
fate of Dr. Franklin is still veiled in mystery, although there is little 
doubt that he perished a martyr to the progressive spirit of the age. 

Among the acts of Congress in 1854 and '55, the most important 
were, the bill for the increase of the naval force by six first-class steam 
frigates, the award of $100,000 to the officers and crews of the ships 
that relieved the San Francisco, the passage of the Nebraska and 
Kansas Bill, organizing those Territories, the Homestead and French 
Spoliation Bills, both of which were vetoed by the President. Prob- 
ably no topic of public interest ever received more attention than the 
Nebraska and Kansas question. 

In the succeeding year, serious difficulties took place in Kansas, in 
consequence of antagonistic attempts at adopting a State constitution ; 
and the attention of Congress was engrossed vdth the exciting subject. 

The President and Cabinet issued a proclamation against the fiUi- 
busters in California, negotiated with Mexico for the settlement of 
boundaries, the right of transfer, and secured a large area of territory, 
concluded the treaty with Japan, settled the Reciprocity treaty with 
Canada, and agreed with Russia on " Free ships, free goods." Imme- 



ADMINISTRATION OF PIERCE. 



657 



diately connected with the affairs of government, was the destruction of 
Greytown, on the 13th of Jnly, in consequence of the unredressed in- 
juries and insults by its inhabitants to citizens of this country. 

Early in the year 1853, the question of Russian right to the exclusive 
control of the Turkish dominions, made war between Turkey and Rus- 
sia seem inevitable. While the dispute was raging, intelHgence reached 
this country that the officers of an Austrian vessel of war, m the Sul- 
tan's dominions, had seized Martin Koszta, a Hungarian refugee, who 
visited this country with M. Kossuth, and had taken the initiatory | 
steps to become a citizen of the United States. Capt. Ingraham, of J 
the TJ. S. sloop-of-war St. Louis, promptly caused his release from the ■ 
Austrian control, which, by the subsequent acts of our government, 
resulted in Koszta's restoration to liberty, and permission to return to 
this country. 

The difficulties between the United States and Great Britain, end- 
ing in the dismissal of the British Consuls at Philadelphia and New 
York for enlisting recruits for the Crimea, is a sufficient apology for in- 
truding here a brief sketch of the Russian War. 

Notwithstanding the intervention of the Western Powers, the diffi- 
culty broke out in open war, and Russia took possession of the Turkish 
provinces on the Danube. 

England and France took the part of the Sultan, and a formal dec 
laration of war was made March 28, 1854. A powerful allied fleet 
was dispatched to the Baltic, and an expedition planned against the 
Crimea. 

The allied armies landed Sept. 14, at Eupatoria, and on their way 
to Sebastopol, engaged in the deadly struggle of the Alma. Success 
followed, and the Allies, taking possession of Balaklava, besieged the 
stronghold, which was so bravely defended, that the siege was pro- 
tracted and bloody beyond the record of military prowess. Sanguinary 
engagements took place frequently, and sometimes entire regiments 
were cut in pieces. On the 5th of November occurred the terrible 
encounter at Inkerman, with the loss of 3,000 English, 2,000 French 
and 10,000 Russians. 

The reverses of the Allies, the general bad management of the ex- 
pedition, and the great difficulty in transporting the necessaries for the 
army, from Balaklava, to the troops, produced among the besiegers a 
wasting fatigue, privation, and exposure, and created such a strong 
public excitement at home against the policy of the War Department, 
that the ministry were compelled to resign, and a new cabinet was 
formed, under Lord Palmerston as Premier. Although fears had been 



658 



ADMINISTKATION OF PIEECE. 



entertained for the health of the Czar, the news of his death, March 2d, 
1855, came like an electric shock to the empire and the continent. 
Alexander succeeded him, not only in his place, bnt also in his policy 
The siege of the Crimea continued, and on the 22d and 23d March, 
the Russians made a terrible sally, with a great loss to the Allies. 
The allied force constantly increased, and the troops awaited orders 
for a general assault. On the 23d of May, the French carried on a 
severe fight with nearly the entire garrison of Sebastopol. On the 
following day, the allied squadron entered the Straits of Kertch, and 
destroyed every thing within their reach. June 6, the bombardment 
of the city was commenced, and on the 18th, the combined forces as- 
sailed the Redan and Mamelon successfully. They were, however, 
compelled to retire, with a terrible loss. On the 16th of August was 
fought the battle of Traktir Bridge, with a loss of 20 officers and 
5,000 men. 

The bombardment continued with short intervals from the 1st of 
July till about noon of Sept. 8, when a general assault on the Mala- 
koff, by the French, and on the Redan by the English, was made with 
triumphant success. The accompanying engraving represents the 
doomed city on the morning of its destruction. This was followed by 
the battle of Kars and Baider. Meanwhile, diplomacy was at work, 
and soon thereafter peace was concluded. Immediate preparations 
were made for the removal of the troops and materiel of war, and the 
definite evacuation of the Crimea took place July 5th. Thus closed 
one of the most warlike contests of the present century. 

One of the acts of Congress, before adjourning on the 4th of March, 
1855, was the conferring upon General Scott the title of Lieutenant- 
General. This unusual hon^ was, we need not remark, well deserved, 
and met with a general popular response of approbation. 

The closing efforts of the administration of General Pierce were di- 
rected to a variety of topics connected with our foreign relations. 
These were under the able management of the Hon. William L. Marcy, 
Secretary of State, whose death, not long after his retirement from 
office, created a profound regret throughout the country. Of domes- 
tic matters, the difficulties in Kansas occupied almost exclusive atten- 
tion, both in and out of Congress, which at its ensuing session, in 
1855-56, was engaged in very earnest and protracted discussions of 
the subject. These discussions were continued at the session assem- 
bling m the fall. Meantime, the Presidential election had in a meas- 
ure supplanted all other topics, and the various political parties were 
engrossed in active preparations for that important event. 



aON. JAMES BUOHANAN. 



CHAPTER LY. 

ADMINISTBATION OF BTJCHANAN. 

HE presidential election in thefali of 1856, resulted 
in the election of James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, 
for President, and John C. Breckenridge, of Ken- 
tucky, for Vice-President. The competitors for the 
Presidency were Mr. Buchanan, run by the Demo- 
cratic party. Colonel John C. Fremont, by the Re- 
publican party, and ex-President Fillmore, by the American 
party; and the electoral vote was, for the successful candidate 
1 74, for Fremont 114, for Fillmore 8. 

The new administration came into power the 4th of March, 
1857, with the following Cabinet : — Lewis Cass, of Michigan, Secretary 
of State; Howell Cobb, of Georgia, Secretary of Treasury ; John B. 
Floyd, of Virginia, Secretary of War ; Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut, 
Secretary of the Navy ; Jacob Thompson, of Mississippi, Secretary of 
Interior ; Judge Black, of Pennsylvania, Attorney-General ; and Aaron 
V. Brown, of Tennessee, Postmaster-General. The inaugural address 
of Mr. Buchanan was well calculated to inspire confidence in the 
minds of the American people, in regard to the wisdom and justice of 
his administration ; it was not, however, until the presentation of his 
regu.ar message to Congress, on its convening in the following De- 
cember, that a full exposition of his views could be obtained on the 
erroai questions of public interest occupying the attention of the na- 




660 



ADMEN-ISTRATION OF BUCHANAN. 



tion. Of the most prominent measures of Lis administration, we shall 
briefly speak in this chapter. 

Before the assemblage of Congress in 1857, the country was visited 
by an extensive and powerfully-felt financial revulsion. Its effects we^ 
experienced in every department of business ; nor was the trouble con- 
fined to our own country, but throughout the commercial world a mon- 
etary panic almost simultaneously seized upon the public mind. Trade 
was destroyed, manufactures stopped, the banks throughout the coun- 
try suspended specie payments, and universal gloom and stagnation of 
business ensued. An important share of the President's introductory 
message was devoted to a consideration of this state of things, and to 
a suggestion of measures for its relief. Nothing definite, however, was 
done by Congress upon the subject; and after a few months, there ap- 
pearing to be no adequate cause for the panic, the public distrust began 
gradually to disappear. Renewed confidence and energy, in the suc- 
ceeding year, resulted in a restoration of the general prosperity of the 
country, the financial depression necessitating, however, in the mean 
time, on the part of the government, measures of greater economy ii 
the national expenditures. 

The question of Kansas was, happily, disposed of during the year 
1858. This exciting topic, involving the slavery and antislavery issue, 
bad engrossed the attention of the country for two or three years pre- 
vious, creating, not only in the territory itself, but throughout the 
Union, the most embittered state of feeling. It was the cause of la- 
mentable scenes of violence among the contending factions in Kansas, 
and of a political rancor among parties in the nation seldom, if ever, 
before known. During the administration of Mr. Fierce, the diflS- 
cdty had assumed an alarming magnitude, and it fell as a bequest to 
the administration of Mr. Buchanan. Governor after governor was 
sent to the territory, in the hope of allaying the angry passions of its 
divided inhabitants and of restoring peace and order. Each faction, 
with a State Constitution in its hands, was appealing to Congress for 
recognition and support. Investigating committees were commissioned 
to repair to that territory, and make report to Congress of the true 
condition of things. In the midst of the prevailing violence and gen- 
eral disregard of law, the military force of the government had to be 
called into exercise, ^"hile the right of popular sovereignty seemed 
to be with the supporters of the Topeka constitution, the party up- 
holding and presenting the Lecompton constitution were, in the judg- 
ment of others, acting according to the strict interpretation of the 
law. Both constitutions were at different times presented to Congress ; 



ADMIKISTKATION OF BUCHANAN. 



661 



and both were finally rejected ; or, rather, an act, called the English 
compromise, was passed, on the 4th of May, 1858, submitting the Le- 
compton constitution to a direct vote of the people of Kansas, and 
thus insuring its defeat before the popular tribunal, in the ensuing Au- 
gust. The same act provided that, in case of the rejection of the Le- 
compton constitution, the people of the territory should at a future 
period, when sufficiently numerous and peaceably organized, proceed to 
the formation of a State constitution, with a view to admission into 
the Union. 

Another popular disturbance, calling for the interposition of the 
executive, was the difficulty with the Mormons in Utah, under the 
domination of Brighara Young. Young had been appointed the first 
governor of the territory, in 1850, and, to his secular power added 
that of spiritual ruler of the Mormon population. Whatever conflicted 
with the peculiar views and interests of this man and his fanatical con- 
federates was sure to be opposed, and the result was, that the judicial 
and executive officers of the government were obliged to leave the ter- 
ritory, where they were exposed to constant insult and threatened 
harm: President Buchanan therefore felt it his duty, in 1857, to ap- 
point a new governor, and other federal officers for Utah, and these 
were sent into the territory, with a military force for their protection 
and the restoration of the supremacy of the Constitution and laws. 
This action was met, on the part of Young, with a proclamation an- 
nouncing his intention of resisting the entrance of the United States 
troops into the territory ; orders were issued for that purpose, and for 
destroying the supply trains of the army, and placing every impedi- 
ment in its way. The entire Mormon population were exhorted to take 
up arms against the government, and the most violent threats of re- 
sistance were universal. Seventy-five wagons loaded with provisions 
and tents for the troops were seized and burned by the Mormons ; 
forts Bridger and Supply were destroyed ; and the army was com- 
pelled to winter, under circumstances of great privation, before reach- 
ing its place of destination. This intelligence led to energetic action 
on the part of Congress. New supplies were voted, and two volunteer 
regiments authorized. These, however, were not eventually required, 
although the determination of the government, thus manifested, to put 
down the rebellion at all hazards, doubtless led to its peaceable settle- 
ment soon afterwards. In the meantime, the President was disposed 
to prevent, if possible, the effusion of blood, and in the spring of 1858 
sent two commissioners to Utah, with a proclamation addressed to its 
mhabitants, representing the guilt and danger of their' conduct, and 
42 



662 



ADMINISTRATION OF BUCHANA^T. 



offering tliem a free pardon for their late treasonable acts, if they would 
promise submission. This measure was crowned with success. The 
Mormons, now aware of their critical position, and their leadei-s cowed 
by the imminent danger at hand, were quite willing to embrace such 
easy terms of reconciliation. Governor Gumming was received as the 
j'.uccessor of Young, and peace again restored to the territory. A por- 
tion of the army was subsequently sent to Oregon, to suppress Indian 
hostilities in that quarter ; and the remainder retained in the vicinity 
of Salt Lake Gity. Early in 1859, rumors of new troubles in Utah 
were received i; and the opinion is entertained that Mormon difficulties 
will never wholly cease until this singular and perverse people leave 
the United States territories entirely, and emigrate to other parts. 

Turning to the foreign affairs of the country, we find the old ques- 
tion of the right of search, on the part of Great Britain, again brought 
into active discussion. Daring the early paj-t of 1858, a large number 
of our merchant vessels, sailing in the neighborhood of Guba, were 
overhauled by British cruisers, boarded, and searched, under the pre- 
tence that they were suspected of being engaged in the slave-trade. 
The indignation of the American people, and of Gongress, which was 
in session, was immediately aroused at these insulting and illegal acts. 
The attention of the British government was called to the subject, and 
the hope expressed that the course pursued by its naval officers would 
be at once disavowed. To arrest these proceeding-s a naval force was 
dispatched by the President to the neighborhood of their transaction; 
and Gongress, taking the matter up with earnestness, proceeded to re 
solve, that American ships at sea, under the American flag, remain un- 
der the jurisdiction of the country to which they belong, and there- 
fore that any visitation or molestation is an infraction of the sovereignty 
of the United States; that these aggressions demand such an unequivo- 
cal explanation from Great Britain as shall prevent their recurrence 
forever in future ; and that Gongress approves of the action of the 
Executive, and is prepared to adopt such legislation as circumstances 
may require. Fortunately, the difficulty was settled without a resort 
to force. The proceedings of the cruisers were peremptorily stopped 
by the British government, their past acts disavowed, and the princi- 
ples set forth by our government acknowledged to be just and proper. 
The President, in noticing this subject in his Message of 1858, re- 
marked that the British government, while abandoning the claim of 
the right of search, at the same time proposed to the United States 
that some mode should be adopted, by mutual arrangement between 
the two countries, for verifying the nationaUty of vessels suspected on 



ADMINISTKATIOE" OF BUCHANAN. 



663 



good grounds of carrying false colors. To this it was replied, that we 
were ready to receive any proposals which they niay feel disposed to 
offer, having this object in view, and to consider them in an amicable 
spirit. 

In the previous year (1857) hostilities had taken place in China, on 
the part of the British and French acting against Canton, and minis 
ters had been sent by those governments for the purpose of negotia- 
ting treaties with the Chinese. Our own government also sent thither 
an able commissioner, who, while instructed to occupy neutral ground in 
regard to the difficulties then pending, was directed to co-operate with 
the British and French, in all peaceful measures to secure by treaty 
those just concessions of foreign commerce which the nations of the 
world had a right to demand. Russia also occupied at the time a 
similar position of neutrality and peaceful intention. The result was 
the successful negotiation of a treaty by Mr. Reed, our commissioner, 
with the Chinese, on the 13th of Jur^e, 1858, establishing the most 
friendly relations, and greatly extending the advantages of commerce 
with that country. 

Through the efforts of our consul at Japan, a new and enlarged 
treaty was also concluded with that power, in 1858. From being an 
isolated and comparatively unknown country, as it was previous to the 
famous expedition in 1852, under Commodore Perry, Japan has now 
become one of the family of commercial nations. The mention of the 
name of Perry leads us to make a record in these pages of the death 
of this distinguished naval officer. Commodore Matthew Colbreath 
Perry died in the city of JSTew York, on the 4th of March, 1858, aged 
sixty-three years. He was one of the ablest of our naval command- 
ers, and particularly distinguished himself as flag officer of the Gulf 
squadron in the Mexican war, and in connection with the Japan ex- 
pedition, as before stated, the remarkable success of which was at- 
tributed to his energetic and able management. 

The death of another eminent character occurred the following 
month. The Hon. Thomas Hart Benton died in Washington on the 
10th of April, 1858, at the age of seventy-six. Colonel Benton was 
one among the eminent statesmen that have attracted the attention 
and directed the legislation of the country for the last half-century. He 
was the contemporary of Clay, Webster and Calhoun, and but a short 
time before his death completed and gave to the world, in his 
" Thirty Years' View," a full and admirable history of events in Con- 
gress during the long period of his connection with that body. 

Further to illustrate the obituary history of the period, we may 



.664: 



ADMINISTKATION OF BUCHANAN. 



mention tlie deatli of that distinguished oflScer in the Mexican war, 
General John A. Quitman, which took place at Natchez, on the 17th 
of July, 1858; and of the famous Hungarian refugee, Martin Koszta, 
(whose rescue from Austrian power is noticed in the previous chapter,) 
in the early part of May; while in the previous year (1857) the rec- 
ord of mortality embraced the names of the Hon. Louis McLane, 
the celebrated Secretary of the Treasury under General Jackson, 
and of James G. Birney, well known as the repeated candidate of 
the antislavery party for the presidency. The remains of Ex-presi- 
dent Monroe were, on the 2d of July, 1858, removed with much cere- 
mony from the city of New York, where they had rested since 1831, 
and conveyed to Virginia for final interment. 

Resuming our ordinary narrative, we now proceed to place on record 
the leading facts connected with that remarkable enterprise, the laying 
of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable. The first attempt to lay the cable was 
made in 1857, and proved unsuccessful; another attempt was made in 
June, 1858, when three successive partings of the cable took place, 
and the vessels returned to port. On the 17th of July, they again set 
sail to resume the work. England and the United States were com- 
bined in the undertaking, the latter furnishing, by vote of Congress, the 
new and magnificent war-steamer Niagara to assist in the laying. On 
the 29th of the month the cable was joined in mid-ocean, and on the 
5th of August the ends were successfully landed, the American end, 
by the Niagara, at Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, and the British end 
by the Agamemnon, at Valentia, Ireland — the two termini distant 
from each other 1,695 geographical miles. Thus was this mighty en- 
terprise accomplished, after overcoming obstacles, disappointments, and 
dangers, which, to a less persevering and intelligent race of men would 
have appeared insurmountable. 

The cable proved shortly after to be defective, requiring that the 
work should be done over again ; but it remained perfect long enough 
to be tested, and to establish the great fact that transatlantic tele- 
graphing was practicable. The following messages, which were trans- 
mitted through the cable, we place on historical record : 

THE queen's message. 

" To the President of the United States : 

" The Queen desires to congratulate the President upon the success- 
ful completion of this great international work, in which the Queen 
has taken the deepest interest. 

" The Queen is convinced that the President will join with her m fer- 



ADMJNISTEATION OF BUCHAKAN. 



665 



vently hoping that the Electric Cable which now connects Great Brit- 
ain with the United States will prove an additional link between the 
nations, whose friendship is founded upon their common interest and 
reciprocal esteem. 

" The Queen has much pleasure in thus communicating with the 
President, and renewing to him her wishes for the prosperity of the 
United States." 

THE president's REPLY. 

"Washington City, Aug. 16, 1858. 
" To her Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain : 

" The President cordially reciprocates the congratulations of Her 
Majesty, the Queen, on the success of the great international enter- 
prise accomplished by the science, skill, and indomitable energy of 
the two countries. It is a triumph more glorious, because far more 
useful to mankind, than was ever won by conqueror on the field of 
battle. 

" May the Atlantic Telegraph, under the blessing of Heaven, prove to 
be a bond of perpetual peace and friendship between the kindred na- 
tions, and an instrument destined by Divine Providence to difi"use re- 
ligion, civilization, liberty, and law throughout the world. In this view 
will not all nations of Christendom spontaneously unite in the declara- 
tion that it shall be forever neutral, and that its communications shall 
be held sacred in passing to their places of destination, even in the 
midst of hostilities ? 

(Signed) "James Buchanan." 

Another important event of the year was the opening of the Over- 
land Mail route from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In the absence of a 
Pacific railroad, such a measure was necessary to accommodate the 
emigration westward and to secure a more safe and rapid means of 
communication with our distant possessions in that quarter. 

The republic of Paraguay having been guilty of inflicting various 
insults and injuries upon our flag and upon the persons and property 
of American citizens within her limits, and having failed to make 
proper apology and reparation, the President recommended in his mes- 
sage of 1857 that a final eflfort be made to obtain redress from that 
power, and that the Executive be authorized to use other means in the 
event of a refusal. Congress accordingly granted the necessary au- 
thority in 1858, and in the fall of that year a powerful naval expedi- 
tion was dispatched to Paraguay, under the command of Commodore 



666 



ADMINISTKATIOX OF ECTCHAXAX. 



Sliubrick. The Hon. James B. Bowlin accompaDied the expedition, 
as Commissioner, fully authorized to make a peaceful settlement, if 
possible, before resorting to force. The fleet arrived at its destination 
early in 1859, having with considerable diflScnlty navigated its way 
up the tortuous stream leading to the interior republic. The efforts 
of our Commissioner fortunately were successful, and, without firing a 
cannon, President Lopez was induced to come to terms. The friendly 
advice and interposition of General Urquiza, President of the Argen- 
tine Confederation, also, without doubt, exerted an influence in pro- 
ducing the pacific results which followed. A favorable treaty was con- 
cluded with Paraguay, and the various causes of animosity were re- 
moved by satisfactory concessions on her part. 

The administration of Buchanan was, furthermore, actively engaged 
in lookinor after and defendinor the interests of the United States in 
the various portions of Central America, and negotiations with . New 
Grenada, Nicaragua, Mexico, and other local governments, occupied its 
watchful attention and energies. The importance of keeping open the 
transit routes to the Pacific, and of protecting the lives and property 
of American citizens, in those quarters, called for constant vigilance 
and effort. 

So, also, in regard to the suppression of fillibustering enterprises on 
the part of some of our own citizens, against those governments, and 
in regard to efforts having in view the prevention of an attempted 
revival of the slave-trade along our southern coasts, and the return to 
Africa of slaves thus found landed on our shores, the conduct of our 
government has been of a decided and prompt character. 

In regard to the acquisition of Cuba, considerable discussion was 
had in Congress in the early part of 1859. The President, in his mes- 
sage to that body, had treated largely of the subject, showing the im- 
portance of the acquisition. Its geographical and commercial advan- 
tages were eloquently set forth. The United States had several times 
before attempted a negotiation with Spain for its purchase, but had 
oeen unsuccessful. Mr. Buchanan, however, strongly recommended 
that the attempt should be renewed, and, as it might be necessary 
that he should, in conducting the bargain, be provided with a certain 
amount of money to advance to the Spanish government, he also sub- 
mitted that suggestion to Congress, commending the whole subject to 
its careful consideration. The question was formally brought forward, 
favorably reported upon in a very elaborate and able manner in both 
Houses, and an appropriation of thirty millions of dollars recommended 
to be passed. Owing to the shortness of the session, the matter was 



ADMINISTRATION OF BUCHANAN. 



667 



not definitely acted upon; it elicited, however, mucli debate, which 
assisted materially in bringing the subject more clearly and fully to 
the attention of the nation. 

y.^r^;fy^^g^ T this session of Congress, Oregon was admitted as 
^^^^^wik^' a State of the Confederacy, as had Minnesota the 
^^^XJI^Iy year previous. This increased the number of States 
^^^U^S^'^K^ thirty-three, two of which (Oregon and California) 
^^Jj^i^n SB face the broad Pacific. 

-^2?>aB^ authority of Congress, important additions of 

^jpjp new war-steamers have been made, though more, it is appre 
hended, will be required to properly look after and defend 
the widely-extended commerce and interests of the nation, 
P/ especially in times of general warlike disturbance through- 
out the world. The early part of 1859, for example, wit" 
nessed the breaking out of war among the nations of Europe — France 
and Sardinia combating against Austria, and with the prospect of in- 
volving the other great powers in the conflict. The difficulty related 
to the independence of the Italian States, over some of which Austria 
had long exerted an undue control. 

Hostilities were precipitated by the demand of Austria upon Sar- 
dinia, to disarm — a demand which was of course indignantly refused 
by the latter. The appeal was then to arms. An Austrian army of 
one hundred and twenty thousand men invaded the territory of Sar- 
dinia on the 29th of April, and in a few days was confronted by the 
Sardinian army numbering about sixty thousand, aided by a French 
army of two hundred thousand men, under the leadership of Louis 
Napoleon himself. The Austrians commenced retracing their steps, 
and wfere followed up by the Allies. On the 21st of May the first battle 
took place at Montebello, one of the successful battle-fields of the 
first Napoleon, and resulted in the defeat of the Austrians. The bat- 
tle of Palestro followed on the 30th of the same month, and here 
again the Austrians were defeated. On the 4th of June took place 
the great battle of Magenta, in which one hundred and twenty thou- 
sand of the Allies fought one hundred and fifty thousand of the en- 
emy. The Austrians here sustained another defeat, losing about ten 
thousand in killed, wounded, and prisoners, and the Allies about three 
thousand. This battle opened the way to Milan, which was immedi- 
ately evacuated by the Austrians, and entered by the Allies on the 
8th of June. 

The Austrians now rapidly retreated, to reach their strongly fortified 
positions beyond the Mincio. Their rear-guard was, however, over- 



6G8 



ADMINISTRATION OF BUCHANAN. 



taken at Melignano, where another desperate sti-uggle took place, re 
suiting in the success of the Allies and a severe loss to the enemy. 
Finally, on the 24th of June, the great and decisive battle of Solfe- 
rino was fought. The forces numbered about two hundred thousand 
on each side ; and from early mom to late in the evening, the fierce 
and terrible encounter lasted. The Allies lost about eighteen thou- 
sand, and the Austrians as many more, making nearly forty thousand 
men sacrificed in this fearful engagement. The Austrians were driven 
from the field. Operations were about being undertaken against the 
fortresses of Peschiera and Verona, when, on the 8th of July, an ar- 
mistice was agreed upon, and on the 11th a treaty of peace was signed 
at Villafranca, by the emperors of France and Austria. Thus suddenly 
and unexpectedly was this mighty conflict brought to a close. Mean- 
time, Garibaldi, the Italian leader, was performing wonders in northern 
Lombardy, while the Hungarian patriots, Kossuth and Klapka, were 
on the point of creating a revolution in Hungary. 

The basis of the peace were : Italy a confederacy, under the hon- 
orary presidency of the Pope ; Lombardy annexed to Sardinia ; Vene- 
tia to be ruled by Austria, but as a part of the Italian confederacy; 
and a general amnesty : a conference to be held at Zurich for the ar- 
rangement of details. 

Prominent among the events of 1860, was the arrival in this coun- 
?try of an embassy from the empire of Japan, consisting of two princes, 
and a train of officials and attendants, numbering about seventy per- 
sons. The event was strikingly novel, inasmuch as such a step toward 
internaticnal intercourse had never before been known in the history 
of that jealous and secluded nation ; and it was regarded as impor- 
tant, because it afforded an indication of future fi'ee and friendly asso- 
ciation, particularly between that country and the United States. The 
embassy arrived on the Pacific coast in the United States war-steamer 
Powhatan, and in the Roanoke at New York on the 9th of May. The 
Roanoke proceeded at once, without landing, to convey the embassy 
to Washington, where it landed on the 14th, and on the l7th its 
members were formally presented to the President of the United 
States. An exchange of the ratified treaty between the United States 
and Japan was made ; and the embassy, after passing a number of 
-weeks at Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, ob- 
serving the institutions of this country, and everywhere received with 
the most courteous attentions, left for home in the government steamer 
Niagara from New York, on the 30th of June. 

The arrival of the mammoth steamship, the Great Eastern, about 



ADMINISTRATION OF BUCHANAN. 



669 



tliiir lime, was a new source of wide-spread interest. After repeated 
disappointments, this wonder of maritime architecture arrived at New 
York on the 27th of June, after a passage of little more than eleven 
days from England. A feeling of mingled curiosity and admiration 
led to an immense influx of people from all parts of the country to 
visit the monster as she lay at her wharf on the North River. The 
commercial emporium continued to be the scene of concentrated in- 
terest for weeks, and it was estimated that very nearly two hundred 
thousand persons visited the great steamship. Her marvellous size 
was such (being seven hundred and eighty feet in length and one hun- 
dred and fifteen in width) that the largest steamers and ships moored 
jtt her vicinity shrunk, in the comparison, to the dimensions of small 
river craft ; while her internal arrangements and machinery were in- 
spected with eager and profound interest by the multitude that flocked 
on board of her. After making one or two excursions along the coast, 
and fulfilling the mission of her first visit, the Great Eastern left New 
York for England on the 16th of August, arriving at Milford Haven, 
England, on the 26th. 

Among the more aflflictive casualties of the year may be mentioned 
the occurrence of several tornadoes, of unprecedented fury, at the West, 
which occasioned the destruction of hundreds of lives, and the loss of 
a vast amount of property. Among the marine disasters, the fate of 
the Hungarian stands prominent. This steamer was wrecked on the 
morning of the 20th of February, in the vicinity of Cape Sable, on 
her passage from Liverpool to Portland, and all on board, about three 
hundred and sixty in number, perished. Another appalling calamity, 
of alike nature, occurred on Lake Michigan, on the morning of the 8th 
of September, when the Lady Elgin, a packet steamer crowded with 
passengers, most of whom were excursionists belonging in Milwaukie, 
was run into and sunk ; and of nearly four hundred persons, only 
about one-quarter were saved. 

During the month of August, intelligence came from the south that 
the famous General William Walker, of Nicaragua notoriety, had es- 
sayed a fresh expedition against Central America, directing his enter- 
prise this time against Honduras. It was soon after reported that he 
had effected a landing and captured the town of Truxillo. His career, 
however, soon met with an abrupt and fatal termination ; for, by the 
middle of September, news was received in this country of the capture 
of himself and the small body of men under his command, by the 
forces of a British war-vessel, and of his surrender to the authorities 
of Honduras, by whom Walker was executed, one of his leading 



670 



ADMINISTEATION OF BUCHANAIT. 



officers sentenced to four year's imprisonment, and his followers per- 
mitted to return to the United States. Thus closed the eventful career 
of the filibustering general. 

In contrast with this, stands the heroic and successful course of the 
distinguished Italian patriot, Garibaldi. Setting out for Sicily in the 
early part of May, with about a thousand follow^^s, in two steamers, 
he landed at Marsala, in the very face oi the enemy, and under the 
fire of Neapolitan war-frigates. One of his steamers was captured and 
the other sunk. But Garibaldi had the hearts of the people with him ; 
they regarded him as their friend and liberato". He was not long, 
then, in swelling his ranks with volunteers, while reinforcements from 
Sardinia also came to his assistance. His forces were still seemingly 
inadequate to the great enterprise before him, yet with unsurpassed 
resolution he pushed his way onward. After a desperate struggle of 
two days, he captured the important city of Palermo ; next Messina , 
and causing the Neapolitan forces and authorities speedily to quit the 
island in dismay and consternation, he proclaimed it annexed to the 
possessions of Victor Emanuel, and himself its temporary Dictator. 
Not resting here, his efforts in behalf of Italian freedom were trans- 
ferred to the main land ; and on the 8th of September, he entered 
unopposed the city of Naples, amidst the joyful demonstrations of its 
inhabitants, the king and royal family having already fled before the 
approach of the patriot and liberator. 

An event of an extraordinary character, and that deeply stirrea the 
public interest, was the visit of the Prince of Wales to America during 
the summer of 1860. His Royal Highness was received with the ut- 
most respect, on the part of the public authorities and all classes of the 
people, and left the country on his return home, having produced a 
most favorable impression in the course of his travels amonarst us. 

On Monday, April 23, 1860, the National Convention of the Demo- 
cratic party met at Charleston, S. C, for the purpose of nominating 
candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States. 
Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, was the only prominent candidate be- 
fore the convention for the first office. He was the acknowledged 
champion of the principle, that the people of the Territories had the 
right, equally with the people of the States, to regulate the institution 
of slavery as they pleased. A large portion of the Southern delegates 
denied this doctrine, and opposed his nomination. They claimed 
that slavery was protected as property in all the national domain, out- 
side of the States, wherever the slave-owners chose to carry it, and de- 
manded of the convention to declare that neither Congress nor the 



ADMINISTRATION OF BUCHANAN. 



671 



Territorial legislatures had any power either to confirm or prohibit it 
in the Territories. The convention refused to make this declaration, 
but agreed that the subject should be left to tbe courts, as a judicial 
question. This did not satisfy the Southern delegates, and they left 
the convention. After a boisterous session, which continued to Thurs- 
day, May 3, and after taking fifty-seven ballots without securing the 
requisite two-thirds vote for Mr. Douglas, the convention adjourned to 
meet at Baltimore on the 18th of June. The seceding delegates or- 
ganized and adjourned to meet at Richmond on the 11th of June. 
They met according to appointment, and again adjourned to meet at 
Baltimore on the 21st of June. 

Both conventions met agreeable to appointment, but the breach be- 
tween them was wider than ever. The regular convention nominated 
Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, for President, and Herschel Y. John- 
son, of Georgia, for Vice-President. The seceders nominated John C. 
Breckinridge, of Kentucky, for President, and Joseph Lane, of Oregon, 
for Vice-President. Both conventions adhered to the doctrine in re- 
gard to slavery upon which they originally split. 

On the 9tli of May, John Bell, of Tennessee, was nominated for 
President, and Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, for Vice-President, 
by a convention in Baltimore, styling themselves the "Union party." 
They declared simply in favor of " the Union, the constitution, and 
the enforcement of the laws." 

On Wednesday, the 16th day of May, the Republican National 
Convention assembled in the city of Chicago, and on Friday, on the 
third ballot, nominated Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, for President. 
Subsequently, Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, was nominated for Vice- 
President. 

Abraham Lincoln, the nominee of this convention, who was destined 
to fill so large a place, not only in the history of his own country, but 
in that of the world, was a self-educated man. He was born in La 
Rue County, Kentucky, on the 12th of February, 1809, of poor parents, 
from whom he inherited nothing but a sound mind in a sound body. 
His boyhood was spent in the rough experiences of a frontier life, with 
no educational advantages but such as he sought out himself by his 
own instinctive thirst for mental improvement. He was for a time a 
flatboatman, then a wood-chopper, then a clerk in a small grocery, 
then a miller, then a soldier in the Black Hawk war, then a village 
politician, then a law student, and finally a lawyer. At all times he 
eagerly sought to enlarge his stock of knowledge, and always carried 



672 



ADMINISTRATION OF BUCHANAN. 



in his bosom a "merry heart that doeth good like a medicine." His 
manners were in the highest degree popular, and, at an early age, 
with a high reputation as a profound lawyer, he was elected for four 
successive years as a member of the State Legislature. He served as 
a member of Congress from 1847 to 1849, and from that time was 
not brought prominently before the country until in 1858 he was 
placed in nomination as a candidate for United States senator, in op- 
position to Stephen A. Douglas. The canvass that followed this 
nomination was the most remarkable ever known in the history of a 
free country. Both candidates travelled together for several months, 
and discussed the great national questions in issue from the same 
platform. It was a combat of giants. The whole country watched 
the discussion with the liveliest interest, for it developed, in each 
disputant, mental resources that were the admiration of the world. 
The canvass closed by the return of a majority of the Legisla- 
ture in favor of Mr. Douglas, but the popular vote was in favor of 
Mr. Lincoln. 

On the opening of this discussion Mr. Lincoln broadly announced 
his position on the slavery question, in language in which there was 
'no ambiguity. He said 

" If we would first know where we are and whither we are tending, 
we could better judge what to do and how to do it. We are now far 
into the fifth year, since a policy was initiated with the avowed object 
and confident promise of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under 
the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, 
but has constantly augmented. In my opinion it will not cease until 
a crisis shall have been reached and passed. ' A house divided 
against itself cannot stand.' I believe this government cannot endure 
permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to 
be dissolved, — I do not expect the house to fall, — but I do expect it 
will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the 
other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread 
of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it 
is in the course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push it 
forward until it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well 
as new. North as well as South." 

Such were the "opinions of Mr. Lincoln. They were not opinions 
alone, they were the utterances of a mind endued with the spirit of 
prophecy. 

The question of slavery, upon which the other party had foundered, 



ADMINISTE^VTION OF BUCHANAN. 



673 



was harmoniously disposed of in the Republican Convention by the 
following resolutions : 

"That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States, and 
especially the right of each State to order and contj-ol its own domes- 
tic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential 
to that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our 
political faith depends, and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed 
force of any State or Territory, no matter under what pretext, as among 
the gravest of crimes. 

" That the normal condition of all the territory of the United States 
is that of freedom ; that as our republican fathers, when they abol- 
ished slavery in all our national territory, ordained that no person 
should be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of 
law, it becomes our duty, by legislation, whenever such legislation is 
necessary, to maintain this provision of the constitution against all at- 
tempt to violate it ; and we deny the authority of Congress, of a Terri- 
torial Legislature, or of any individuals, to give legal existence to 
slavery in any Territory of the United States." 

The canvass that followed these conventions was not unusually ex- 
citing, because from the confused condition of the opposition parties, 
the election of Lincoln was conceded from the beginning. The hour 
had come when the policy of the nation was to be changed in respect 
to the institution of slavery, and the flaming sword of freedom set up 
to guard in every way the entrance to the rich and fertile territories 
of the West. 

On the 6th of November the presidential election took place. The 
electoral votes of the States were distributed among the candidates as 



follows : 

Lincoln and Hamlin 180 

Breckinridge and Lane 72 

Bell and Everett 39 

Douglas and Johnson 12 

The exact popular vote was as follows : 

Lincoln and Hamlin 1,857,610 

Douglas and Johnson 992,139 

Breckinridge and Lane (South Carolina estimated) 749,082 

Bell and Everett 575,193 

Fusion votes for Douglas, Breckinridge, and Bell 343,837 

Fusion votes for Douglas and Bell 15,438 

Total popular vote 4,533,299 



674 



ADMINISTEATION OF BUCHANAN. 



Immediately on ascertaining the result of the election, active pre- 
parations were made in the slaveholding States for a withdrawal from 
the Union. South Carolina took the lead. The Legislature of that 
State met on the 2'7th ot November, and at once provided for the 
election of delegates to a State convention, to meet on the 17th of 
December. This convention, composed of delegates fresh from the 
people, met at Columbia on the day appointed, but adjourned to 
Charleston, in consequence of the prevalence of the small pox at the 
former place. On the 20th day of December, almost without debate, 
and by a unanimous vote, the convention adopted an ordinance of 
secession, which, as a sample of all the ordinances of that kind passed 
by the other States, is here given : — 

"An ordinance to dissolve the Union between the State of South 
Carolina and other States united with her under the compact entitled 
*The Constitution of the United States of America.' 

" We, the people of South Carolina, in convention, assembled, do 
declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, that the 
ordinance adopted by us in convention on the 23d day of May, in the 
year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, 
whereby the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified, 
and also, all acts and parts of acts of the General Assembly of this 
State ratifying amendments of the said constitution, are hereby re- 
pealed ; and that the union now subsisting between South Carolina 
and other States, under the name of the ' United States of America,' 
is hereby dissolved." 

The convention also issued a declaration of independence, and 
adopted ordinances preparing the State for its independent position ; 
among which was one defining " treason," declaring that oflfence to 
consist in levying war against the State, adhering to its enemies, giv- 
ing them aid and comfort, and pronouncing the punishment for such 
conduct to be " death without benefit of clergy." The reign of terror 
was thus inaugurated. Loyalty to the United States was treason to 
South Carolina. 

On the 3d day of December Congress convened, the representatives 
of all the States being in their seats. The message of President 
Buchanan elaborately discussed the state of the country, and the rela- 
tive powers of the General and State governments. He talked as a 
statesman when his language should have been that of a soldier. In- 
stead of a fine-spun argument about State rights, if he had simply told 
the Southern malcontents that if they attempted to obstruct the execu- 



ADMINISTRATION OF BUCHANAN. 



675 



tion of tlie laws he would put tliein to the sword, war might not have 
been averted, but it would have been a short affair, and probably con- 
fined to South Carolina. 

That part of the President's message relating to the state of the 
country was referred in the House to a special committee of thirty- 
three, or one from each State, and in the Senate to a special committee of 
thirteen. The House committee became gradually reduced by the 
withdrawal of many of the Southern members, and its deliberations 
are scarcely worthy a record. A majority of the Senate committee 
agreed upon a plan proposed by Senator Crittenden of Kentucky, and 
as this plan was generally accepted, both in Congress and out of it, by 
the opponents of the administration elect, it is here placed on record 
as the famous " Crittenden Compromise :" 

1. Slavery to be prohibited in all Territories north of 36 degrees 
30 minutes, but to be recognized and protected in all Territories south 
of that line ; any Territory, when it has the requisite population, to be 
admitted as a State, either with or without slavery, as its constitution 
may provide. 2. Congress to have no power to abolish slavery in 
places under the exclusive jurisdiction of slaveholdiug States, nor in 
the District of Columbia, nor under any circumstances without making 
compensation to the owners, nor to prohibit the slave-trade between 
the slave States. 3. Congress to have power to pay for fugitive 
slaves when their return is prevented by violence ; the United States 
to recover the amount from the county where the violence is com 
mitted, and the county to recover it from the wrong-doers. 4. Ko 
future amendments to the constitution to affect the foregoing pro- 
visions, nor to authorize Congress to mterfere with slavery in the 
States where it is permitted by law. 

A committee of members of Congress from the Border States sub- 
stantially agreed upon this proposition, but it failed to meet the ap- 
probation of Congress, and was abandoned. 

At the suggestion of Virginia, a convention, styled a " Peace Con- 
gress," composed of delegates from all the States of the Union, assem- 
bled on the 4th of February, at Washington, to devise a plan to con- 
ciliate the South, Ex-president John Tyler, of Virginia, v^as chosen 
president. This convention adjourned on the 28th, after agreeing 
upon a plan of adjustment substantially the same as that of the Crit- 
tenden project. This plan was ratified by Congress, but was never 
heard of afterwards. 

All plans of compromise had thus failed. The friends of the ad- 



676 



ADMINISTRATION OF BUCHAXAN. 



ministration elect refused to Lave anj'thing to do with tliem. They 
had been fairly and constitutionally elected to administer the govern- 
ment, and they scorned to endeavor to placate those who were con- 
cealing their treasonable designs under the guise of grievances which 
were purely imaginary. 

In the meantime the spirit of treason was running riot at the South, 
without any interference from those at Washington in whose hands 
was placed the execution of the la^vs. On the night of December 
26th, Major Anderson, commanding at Fort Moultrie, in Charleston 
harbor, apprehending an attack upon that position from batteries 
which the authorities of South Carolina had erected in range of it, 
quietly removed his command to Fort Sumter, in the same harbor, 
and there with religious solemnities raised the Stars and Stripes, and 
solemnly pledged his little band to defend it to the last extremity. 
This fortress was deemed impregnable. But in order to hold it, rein- 
forcements of men and provisions were indispensable. Major Ander- 
son appealed to the President for assistance. The steamship Star of 
the West was at once despatched to his aid, loaded with provisions 
and with 200 soldiers. This ship sailed from New York on the 5th 
of January, and arrived at Charleston bar at midnight on the 8th. 
The lights had all been removed from the harbor, and it was impossi- 
ble to reach the port until daylight. As the day began to break, the 
Star of the West passed up the channel towards Fort Sumter. On 
arriving opposite Morris Island, about two miles from the fort, a 
masked battery opened fire upon the vessel, although an American 
flag was flying from the flagstaff of the ship, and a large American en- 
sign from the foretop. The ship was unarmed, and to avoid certain 
destruction, after being struck by three heavy shots, retreated from 
the harbor and returned to New York. This was as much an open 
act of war as if the guns had been pointed at the Capitol at Washing- 
ton, but the administration still hesitated, and made no attempt, even, 
to punish the aggressors. 

In the month of January, the States of Mississippi, Florida, Ala- 
bama, Georgia, and Louisiana followed the example of South Carolina, 
and formally seceded from the Union. Their delegations left Con- 
gress. They appointed commissioners to visit the other slaveholding 
States, to induce them to join the new government which they had 
now determined to form. 

The delegates of the six seceding States met at Montgomery, Ala- 
bama, on the 4th of February, formed themselves into a Congress, 



ADMINISTRATION OF BUCHANAN. 



677 



framed a " Constitution for the Provisional Government of tlie Con- 
federate States of America," and elected Jefferson Davis, of Missis- 
sippi, president, and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, vice-presi- 
dent of the same, to hold office for one year, till a permanent form of 
government should be prepared. 



CHAPTER LYI. 

ADMINISTRATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



fN the 11th day of February, 1861, Abraham Lincoln, 
the President elect, bade adieu to his friends in Spring- 
field, Illinois, and set out on his journey to Washington. 
His address on the occasion has a solemn interest at this 
and indicates how clearly he appreciated the great respon- 
es he was about to assume. He said : 

"My Friends : 

" No one not in my position can appreciate the sadness I 
feel at this parting. To this people I owe all I am. Here I have 
lived more than a quarter of a century ; here my children were born, 
and here one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall see 
you again. A duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, greater than 
that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of 
"Washington. He never would have succeeded except for the aid of 
Divine Providence, upon whom he at all times relied. I feel that I 
cannot succeed without the same Divine aid which sustained him, and 
on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance and support ; and I 
hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive that Divine as- 
sistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which, success is 
certain. Again I bid you all an affectionate farewell." 

Reaching Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he was informed of a plot to 
assassinate him in the city of Baltimore. By the advice of friends he 
quietly left Harrisburg by a special train, and proceeded by night 
through Baltimore to Washington, where he arrived early on the 
morning of Saturday, February 23d. 

On the arrival of Mr. Lincoln at Washington, immediate prepara- 
tions were commenced for his inauguration as President on the 4th of 
March. For the first time in the history of the country, so rampant 
and unrestrained had the spirit of treason become, it was necessary to 
perform that august ceremony under the shadow of military power ; 



ADMLNISTEATION OF LINCOLN. 



679 



as if the President elect, instead of being the chosen servant of a free, 
powerful, peaceful and intelligent people, were a tyrant and usurper. 
The arrangements for the occasion were entrusted to the hands of that 
veteran soldier and patriot, General Winfield Scott. The inaugura- 
tion proceeded without interruption, and the reins of power were as- 
sumed by Mr. Lincoln. 

MR. LINCOLN'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

FELLOw-CrrizEXS of the United States : 

In compliance with a custom as old as the government itself, I appear be- 
fore you to address you briefly, and to take in your presence the oath prescribed 
by the Constitution of the United States to be taken by the President before he 
enters on the execution of his office, T do not consider it necessary at present for 
me to discuss those matters of administration about which there is no special 
anxiety or excitement 

Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that by 
the accession of a republican administration, their property, and then- peace and 
personal security, are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable 
cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has 
aU the while existed, and been open to their inspection. 

It is found in nearly all the public speeches of him who now addresses you. I 
do but quote from one of these speeches, when I declare that I have no purpose, 
directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in aU States where 
it exists. I beheve I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inchnation lo 
do so. Those who nominated and elected me did so with full knowledge that I 
had made this and similar declarations, and had never recanted them. More thua 
this, they placed in the platform for my acceptance, as a law to themselves and to 
me, the clear and emphatic resolution which I now read. 

Resolved, That the maintenance inviolate of the right of the States, and especially 
the right of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions according 
to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance of power on which the 
perfection and endurance of our pohtical fabric depend, and we denounce the law- 
, less invasion by armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, no matter under 
what pretext, as the gravest of crimes. 

I now reiterate these sentiments, and in so doing, I only press upon the pubUc 
attention the most conclusive evidence of which the case is susceptible, that the 
property, peace, and security of no section are to be in any wise endangered by 
the now incoming administration, 

I add to that all the protection which, consistently with the Constitution and the 
laws, can be given, wiU be cheerfully given to aU the States, when lawfiilly de- 
manded, for whatever cause, as cheerfully to one section as to another. There is 
much controversy about the dehvering up of fugitives from service or labor. The 
clause I now read is as plainly written in the Constitution as any other of its 
provisions. 

" No person held to service or labor in one State under the laws thereof) escap- 
ing into another, shall in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be dis- 



680 



ADMINISTEATION OF LINCOLN. 



charged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party 
to whom such service or labor may be due." 

It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intended by those who made it 
for the reclaiming of what we call fiigitive slaves, and the intention of the lawgiver 
is the law. AJl members of Congress swear their support to the whole Constitu- 
tion — to this provision as much as any other. 

To the proposition then that slaves whose cases come within the terms of this 
clause shall be delivered up, their oaths are unanimous. Now if they would make 
the effort in good temper, could they not, with nearly equal unanimity, frame and 
pass a law by means of which to keep good that unanimous oath. 

There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should be enforced by 
National or by State authority ; but surely that difference is not a very material 
one. If the slave is to be surrendered, it can be of but little consequence to him 
or to others how it is done. And should any one in any case be content that his 
oath shall go unkept on a merely unsubstantial controversy as to how it shall 
be kept ? 

Again, in any law upon this subject, ought not all the safeguards of liberty 
known in civihzed and humane jurisprudence to be introduced, so that a free man 
be not in any case surrendered as a slave, and might it not be well at the same 
time to provide by law for the enforcement of that clause in the Constitution which 
guarantees that the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and 
immunities of citizens in the several States. 

I take the official oath to-day with no mental reservations, and with no purpose 
to construe the Constitution and laws by any hypercritical rules, and while I do 
not choose now to specify particular acts of Congress as proper to be enforced, I 
do suggest that it will be much safer for all, both in official and private stations, to 
conform to and abide by all those acts which stand unrepealed, than to violate any 
of them, trusting to find impunity in having them held to be unconstitutional 

It is seventy-two years since the first inauguration of a President under our 
National Constitution. During that period fifteen different and greatly dis- 
tinguished citizens have in succession administered the executive branch of the 
government. They have conducted it through many perils, and generally with 
great success. 

Yet with all this scope for precedence, I now enter upon the same task for the 
brief constitutional term of four years, under great and peculiar difficulties. A 
disruption of the Federal Union, heretofore only menaced, is now formidably at- 
tempted. I hold that in the contemplation of universal law and of the Constitu- 
t'on, the Union of these States is perpetual 

Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all national 
governments. It is safe to assert that no government ever prospered which had a 
provision in its organic law for its own termination. Continue to execute aU the 
express provisions of our national Constitution, and the Union will endure forever, 
it being impossible to destroy it, except by some action not provided for in the in- 
strument itself. Again, if the United States be not a government proper, but an 
association of States, in the nature of a contract merely, can it, as a contract, be 
peaceably unmade by less than all the parties who made it. One party to a con- 
tract may violate it, so to speak, but does it not require all to lawfully rescind it ? 



ADMINISTRATION OP LINCOLN. 



681 



Descending from these general principles, we find the proposition that in legal 
contemplation the Union is perpetual, confirmed by the history of the Union itself. 

The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the 
articles of association in lIH. It was matured and continued in the Declaration 
of Independence in 1776. It was further matured, and the faith of all the then 
thirteen States expressly plighted and engaged that it should be perpetuated by 
the articles of confederation in 1778, and finally, in 1789, one of the declared ob- 
jects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was, " to form a more perfect 
Union ;" but if the destruction of the Union by one or by a part only of the States 
be lawfully possible, the Union is less than before the Constitution, having lost 
the vital element of perpetuity. 

It follows from these views that no State, upon its own mere motion, can law- 
fully get out of the Union : that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally 
void, and that acts of violence within any State or States, against the authority of 
the United States, are insurrectionary or revolutionary according to circumstances. 

I therefore consider that in view of the Constitution and the laws, the Union is 
not broken, and to the extent of my ability I shall take care, as the Constitution 
itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed 
in all the States. 

Doing this I deem to be only a simple duty on my part, and I shall faithfully 
perform it so far as it is possible, unless my rightful masters, the American people, 
shall withhold the requisite means, or in some authoritative manner direct the 
contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, but only as the declared 
purpose of the Union, that it will constitutionally defend and maintain itself 

In doing this there need be no bloodshed or violence, and there shall be none, 
unless it is forced upon the national authority. The power confided to me will be 
used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the govern- 
ment, and collect the duties and imposts, but beyond what may be necessary for 
these objects there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the 
the people anywhere. 

Where hostility to the United States shall be so great, in any State — shall be so 
great and so universal as to prevent competent resident citizens from holding the 
federal ofSces, there will be no attempt to force obnoxious strangers among the 
people with that object. While a strict legal right may exist for the government to 
enforce the occupancy of these offices, the attempt to do so would be so irritating 
and so nearly impracticable withal, that I deem it better to forego for the time the 
use of such offices. 

The mails, unless repelled, will continue to be furnished in all parts of the 
Union. So far as possible, the people everywhere shall have that sense of perfect 
security which is most favorable to calm thought and reflection ; the course here 
indicated will be followed unless current events and experience shall show a modi- 
fication or change to be proper ; and in every case and exigency my best discre- 
tion shall be exercised according to the circumstances actually existing, and with 
a view and hope of a peaceful solution of the national troubles, and the restoration 
of fraternal sympathies and affections. 

That there are persons in one section or another who seek to destroy the Union 
at all events, and are glad of any pretext to do it, I wiU neither affirm nor deny. 



682 



ADMINISTEATION OF LINCOLN. 



But if there be such I need address no word to them. To those, however, who 

really love the Union, may I not speak, before entering upon so grave a matter as 
the destruction of our national fabric, with all its benefits, its memories, and its 
hopes ? Would not it be well to ascertain why we do it ? 

"Will you hazard so desperate a step while there is any portion of the ills you 
fly from which have no real existence ? Will you, while the certain ills you fly to 
are greater than all the real ones you fly from ? Will you risk the commission of 
so fearful a mistake. 

All profess to be content in the Union, if all constitutional rights can be main- 
tained. Is it true, then, that any right plainly written in the Constitution has been 
denied ? I think not. Happily, the human mind is so constituted that no party 
can reach the audacity of doing this. Think, if you can, of a single instance in 
which a plainly written provision of the Constitution has ever been denied. 

If by the mere force of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any 
clearly written constitutional right, it might, in a moral point of view, justify revo- 
lution. Certainly it would, if such right were a vital one ; but such is not our 
case. All the vital rights of minorities and of individuals are so plainly assured to 
them by affirmations and negotiations, guarantees and prohibitions in the Consti- 
tution that controversies never arise concerning them. But no organic law can 
ever be fr"amed with a provision specifically applicable to every question which 
may occur in practical administration. No foresight can anticipate, nor any docu- 
ment of reasonable length contain express provisions for all possible questions. 

Shall fugitives from labor be surrendered by National or by State authority? 
The Constitution does not expressly say. Must Congress protect slavery in the 
Territories ? The Constitution does not expressly say. 

From questions of this class spring all our constitutional controversies, and we 
divide upon them into majorities and minorities. If the minority will not ac- 
quiesce, the majority must, or the government must cease. There is no alterna- 
tive for continuing the government but acquiescence on one side or the other. If 
a minority in such case will secede rather than acquiesce, they make a precedent 
which in turn will divide and ruin them ; for a minority of their own will secede 
from them whenever a majority refuses to be controlled by such minority. For 
instance, wlij may not any portion of a new confederacy a year or two hence ar- 
bitrarily secede again, precisely as portions of the present Union now claim to se- 
cede from it ? All who cherish disunion sentiments are now being educated to the 
exact temper of doing this ? Is there such perfect identity of interests among the 
States which compose a new Union as to produce harmony only and prevent re- 
newed secession ? 

Plainly, the central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy. A majority 
held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing 
easily with the deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiment, is the only 
true sovereign of a free people. "Whoever rejects it, does of necessity fly to 
anarchy or to despotism. Unanimity is impossible. The rule of i minority, as a 
permanent arrangement, is wholly impracticable, so th^t, rejecting the majority 
principle, anarchy or despotism, in some form, is all that is left. 

I do not forget the positions assumed by some, that constitutional questions are 
to be decided by the Supreme Court, nor do I deny that such decisions must be 



ADMINISTEATIOX OF LI>'COLX. 



683 



binding in anv case upon the parries to a suit, as to the object of that suit. 
"WMe thej are also entitled to very high respect and consideration in all parallel 
cases by all other departments of the government, and while it is obviously pos- 
sible that such decisions may be erroneous in any given cases, s:;;! the evil of 
following it being limited to that particular case, with the chance that it may be 
overruled and never become a precedent for other cases, can better be borne than 
could the evils of a different practice. At the same time the candid citizen must 
confess that if the pohcv of the government upon the vital questions aiecting the 
whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by the decisions of the Supreme Court, then 
the mstant they are made in ordinary litigation between parties in personal actions, 
the people wiU have ceased to be their own, unless having to that extent prac- 
tically resigned their government into the hands of that eminent tribunal. 

Xor is there in this view any assault upon the court or the judges. It is a duty 
from which they may not shrink to decide cases of property brought before them, 
and it is no fault of theirs if others seek to turn their decisions to political pur- 
poses. One section of our country beheves that slavery is right and ought to be 
extended, while the othr-=r beheves it is wrong and ought not to be extended. This 
is our only substantial dispute. 

The fugitive slave clause of the Constitution and the law for the suppression of 
the foreign slave trade are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law can ever be 
enforced where the moral sense of the people imperfectly supports the law itsel£ 
The great body of the people abide by their dry legal obligations in both cases, 
and a few break over in each. This, I think, cannot be perfectly cured, and it 
would be worse in both cases after the separation of the sections than before. The 
foreign slave trade, now imperfectly suppressed, would be ulrimately revived with- 
out restriction in one secrion, while fugirive slaves, now only partially surrendered, 
would not be surrendered at all by the other. 

Physically speaking, we cannot separate. "VTe cannot remove the respective 
sections from each other, nor build an impassable wall between them. A hus- 
band and wife may be divorced and go out of the presence and beyond the reach 
of each other, but the different parts of our country cannot do this. They cannot 
but remain face to face, and intercourse, either amicable or hostile, must conrinue 
between them. Is it possible, then, to make that intercourse more advantageous 
or more satisfactory after separation than be-fore ? Can aliens make n-eanes easier 
than friends can make laws ? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between 
aliens than laws can among friends ? Suppose you go to war ; you cannot fight 
always ; and when after much loss on both sides, and no gain on either, you cease 
fighting, the identical questions as to terms of intercourse are again upon you. 

This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. "VThen- 
ever they shall grow weary of the existing government they can exercise their 
constitutional right of amending, or their revolutionary right to dismember or 
overthrow it; and I cannot be ignorant of the fact that many worthy and patriotic 
citizens are desirous of having the national Constitution amended. 

While I make no recomraendarion of any amendment, I fully recognize the full 
authority of the people over the whole s ibjert, to be exercised in either of the 
moles prescribed in the instrument irself and I should, under existing circum- 
stances, favor rather than oppose a fair opportunity being afforded the people to 



684 



ADMIXISTEATION OF LLXCOLX. 



act upon it. I will venture to add, that to me the convention mode seems prefer- 
able, in that it allows amendments to originate with the people themselves, instead 
of only permitting them to take or reject propositions originated by others not es- 
pecially chosen for the purpose, and which might not be such as they would wish 
to accept or refuse. 

I understand that a proposed amendment to the Constitution, which amend- 
ment, however, I have not seen, has passed Congress — to the effect that the federal 
government shall never interfere with the domestic institutions of States, including 
that of persons held to service. To avoid misconstruction of what I have said, I 
depart from my purpose not to speak of particular amendments, so far as to say 
that holding such provision to be already implied in constitutional law, I have no 
objection to its being made an express and irrevocable one. 

The Chief Magistrate derives all his authority from the people, and they have 
conferred none upon him to fix the terms for the separation of the States. The 
people themselves, also, can do this if they choose, but the Executive, as such, has 
nothing to do with it. His duty is to administer the present government as it 
came into his hands, and to transmit it unimpaired by him to his successor. "Wliy 
should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people ? Is 
there any better, or an equal hope in the world ? In our present differences, is 
either party without faith of being in the right ? 

If the Almighty Ruler of nations, with his eternal truth and justice, be on your 
side of the North, or on yours of the South, that truth and justice will prevail by 
the judgment of this great tribunal. The American people, by the frame of the 
government under which we live, have wisely given their pubhc servants but little 
power for mischief; and have with equal wisdom provided for the return of that 
little to their own hands at very short intervals. While the people retain their 
virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme wickedness or folly, can 
very seriously injure the government in the short space of four years. 

My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and weU upon this whole subject 
Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time. If there be an object to hurry any 
of you in hot haste to a step which you would never take deliberately, that object 
will be frustrated by taking time ; but no good object can be frustrated by it. 
Such of you as are now dissatisfied still have the old Constitution unimpaired, and 
on the sensitive point, the laws are of your own framing under it, while the new 
administration will have no immediate power, if it would, to change either. If it 
were admitted that you w^ho are dissatisfied hold the right side in the dispute, 
there is still no single good reason for precipitate action. Intelligence, patriotism, 
Christianity, with a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored 
land, are still competent to adjust in the best way all present diflficulty. In your 
hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue 
of civil war. The government will not assail you. Tou can have no conflict 
without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven 
to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, 
protect, and defend it. I am loth to close. We are not enemies but friends. We 
must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our 
bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretched from every battle field 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



685 



and patriot's grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, 
will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they wiU be, 
by the better angels of our nature. 

Mr. Lincoln selected for his cabinet advisers, William H. Seward, of 
New York, Secretary of State ; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, Secretary 
of the Treasury ; Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of War ; 
Gideon Welles, of Connecticut, Secretary of the Navy; Caleb B. 
Smith, of Indiana, Secretary of the Interior; Montgomery Blair, of 
Maryland, Postmaster-General ; Edward Bates, of Missouri, Attorney- 
General. 

The pacific and conciliatory tone of the Inaugural was wholly lost 
upon the conspirators of the South. The day it was delivered. General 
P. T. Beauregard took formal command of the rebel forces in Charles- 
ton, and commenced operations looking to a formal siege of Fort 
Sumter. One week later the rebel Congress met at Montgomery, 
Alabama, and adopted a permanent constitution. "The prevailing 
ideas," said Yice-president Stephens, in expounding the principles of 
this new government, " entertained by Jefferson and most of the lead- 
ing statesmen at the time of the formation of the old constitution 
were, that the enslavement of the Afi'ican was in violation of the laws 
of nature ; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and po- 
litically. Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite 
ideas ; its foundations are laid, its corner stone rests, upon the great 
truth that the negro is not equal to the white man ; that slavery, sub- 
ordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition. 
This, our new government, is the first in the history of the wor'd, 
based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth." 
Meditating in his dungeon in Fort Warren, in Boston harbor, his gov- 
ernment, " corner stone" and all, annihilated, and his confederates in 
office either vagabonds upon the earth or on trial for their lives, — how 
like bitter irony must all this seem to the great and misguided Geor- 
gia orator now ! 

The attention of the whole country was directed to the little garri- 
son at Fort Sumter. On the 9th of April the President secretly de- 
spatched 8 vessels, mounting 26 guns, and carrying 1380 men, to re- 
lieve the garrison. The secret was poorly kept, for the authorities at 
Charleston were notified of it as soon as the fleet had sailed. On the 
11th of April, General Beauregard demanded the surrender of the 
Fort before reinforcements should arrive. Major Anderson refused to 
comply. He was asked when he would surrender. His reply was 



686 ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 

that if lie did not receive controlling instructions from his govern- 
ment to the contrary, he would evacuate the fort by noon of the 15th. 
His provisions were entirely exhausted, with the exception of a small 
quantity of salt pork, and he must leave by that time or starve to 
death. On the morning of the 12th General Beauregard notified him 
that he should open the fire of his batteries on Fort Sumter in one 
hour from the time of his receiving notice. Accordingly at 4.30 
A. M. on Friday, April 12, a terrific storm of shot and shell was 
opened upon the fort from all points. The little party in the fort re- 
tired to their bombproofs, leisurely took their breakfast together, and 
prepared for defence. They were divided into three equal reliefs, each 
to work the batteries for four hours. At V o'clock the batteries of 
Fort Sumter were opened in reply. From this time until Sunday, the 
14th, the firing proceeded without intermission, night or day, on the 
part of the rebels. The fire of the fort was suspended at night. The 
barracks in the interior of the fort were set on fire by the hot shot 
that were thrown into them, and the magazine so exposed that it be- 
came necessary to throw a large part of the powder into the sea. The 
cartridges became exhausted, after using up for that purpose the sheets 
and blankets in the fort, and even the shirts of the men — the last bis- 
cuit had been eaten more than thirty -six hours before — the smoke of 
the burning barracks was so dense that the men were blinded, and 
were gasping for breath, with wet handkerchiefs over their mouths. 
At this stage the flagstafi' of the fort was cut down by a shell. Seeing 
this, General Beauregard sent an oflScer to the fort, to inquire if they 
were ready to surrender. Terms of surrender were soon agreed upon, 
one stipulation of which was that Major Anderson should have per- 
mission to salute his flag before leaving the fort. In firing this salute 
the gun burst and killed a gunner, private Daniel Hough, of New 
York, the only life lost in the fort from the commencement of the 
siege. Major Anderson and his immortal little band of heroes were 
taken out to the fleet which lay outside the harbor, in full sight of 
the fort during the assault upon it, and were placed on board the Bal- 
tic, which immediately sailed for New York. 

This open act of war infuriated the people of the North. The ex- 
citement was as intense as if every man had been aroused from sleep 
and found his house on fire. The President, on the 15th, issued a 
call for 75,000 men for three months, "to repossess the forts, places, 
and property which have been seized from the Union." He also con- 
vened a special session of Congress, to meet on the 4th of July. The 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN.. 687 
« 

governors of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mis- 
souri, refused to farnish their quota of troops called for, but the defi- 
ciency was quickly filled by the consenting States. All the loyal 
States not only tendered men in unlimited numbers, but offered all 
the money that might be called for. 

Virginia seceded on the l7th of April. The armory of Harper's 
Ferry, where there were 15,000 stand of arms, was at once seized by 
the troops of that State, and the commander of the navy yard at Nor- 
folk, where there was an immense amount of the munitions of war, 
destroyed everything possible, to prevent it falling into the hands of 
the rebels, and evacuated that post. 

Jefferson Davis issued a proclamation, inviting applications for pri- 
vateers. This was answered by a proclamation from President Lin- 
coln, declaring all the Southern ports blockaded, and stationing ves- 
sels of war at the entrance of every harbor. He also ordered the offi- 
cers of the navy to seize the Southern privateers wherever they could 
find them, hang from the yard-arms such as were contumacious, and 
bring the more penitent ashore for trial. This order was never re- 
scinded, but practically, and unfortunately, it remained a dead letter 
throughout the war. 

On the 19th of April a Massachusetts and a Pennsylvania regiment 
reached Baltimore on their way to Washington. They were assaulted 
by a mob in the streets, and were fired upon from the houses. The 
railroad track was torn up, and the cars were stopped. The Pennsyl- 
vanians, being without arms, retreated and fled, and the Massachusetts 
troops were obliged to pass through on foot. Two of their number 
were killed, and eight wounded. This was the first blood shed in the 
war. For some weeks afterwards Baltimore was avoided, by sending 
the troops by water from Philadelphia to Annapolis. The charge of 
this service devolved upon General B. F. Butler, of Massachusetts 
who prosecuted the work with such energy and success as to elicit the 
unbounded admiration of the country. As soon as he had force 
enough in hand, he established a passage through Baltimore which 
was never after interrupted. 

Early in May it became apparent that the rebels designed an attack 
on Washington. A large force, under command of General Beaure- 
gard, had been gathered in Virginia. On the 24th, the first actual 
movement into Virginia, to counteract their designs, was made by a 
regiment of Zouaves under Colonel Ellsworth. They landed at 
Alexandria, and while marching through the town, a secession flag 



688 ADMINISTRATION OP LINCOLN. 

was noticed, floating from a staflf on a public house. TLe colonel 
rushed into the house, and mounting to the roof, seized the flag ; and 
while returning with it was met on the stairs by the owner of the 
house, James T. Jackson, and shot through the heart. The assassin 
was instantly shot dead by a companion who had accompanied his 
colonel. Alexandria and the surrounding country were then occu- 
pied and put in a state of defence, and a heavy body of troops sent 
forward towards Manassas Junction, to intercept communication be- 
tween Harper's Ferry and Richmond. 

During this month important steps were taken to counteract rebel 
operations in the State of Missouri. The State government was in 
the hands of the secessionists. Governor Jackson had formed, at 
Camp Jackson, St. Louis, a body of State troops, ostensibly for the 
purpose of preserving the peace, but really with the design of pre- 
venting the removal of the immense amount of arms and military 
stores in the United States arsenal at that place. The government 
forces at the arsenal were composed mostly of volunteers, and num- 
bered something over 5,000 men. They were under the command of 
Captain Nathaniel Lyon, an officer of the regular army, a native of 
Ashford, Connecticut, and, as he afterwards proved himself, every inch 
a soldier. On the morning of the 10th he sallied out of the arsenal 
at the head of his forces, marched to Camp Jackson, surrounded it, 
and demanded the surrender of the troops there stationed. They at 
once threw down their arms, and as they were being escorted as 
prisoners of war back to the arsenal, an attempt was made by the mob 
to rescue them, which was unsuccessful. Captain Lyon ordered his 
soldiers to fire into the mob, which they did, killing twenty of them 
and wounding a large number. Another attack made upon Captain 
Lyon was repelled with a like result. The next day General Harney, 
commanding the department of Missouri, arrived at St. Louis, and 
made an agreement with General Price, commanding the State troops, 
that the former would suspend all further demonstrations, provided the 
latter would maintain peace. This arrangement was at once repudi- 
ated at Washington. General Harney was removed, and the com- 
mand of the department of Missouri w-as placed in the stronger hands 
of Lyon, who was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. General 
Lyon immediately took the most active measures to suppress the rebel 
conspiracy in the State. He seized all the arms and ammunition within 
his reach, and collecting fifteen hundred troops, proceeded with them 
to Jefi'erson City, the capital of the State. The rebel governor, Jack- 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



689 



son, abandoned the capital on tlie approach of Lyon, and retired to a 
position near Booneville. Thither Lyon pursued and attacked him, 
on the 20th of June, and completely routed his forces. General Lyon 
returned to Springfield, and from this time to the 1st of August, was 
engaged in preparing to meet the large rebel force which had been 
collected in Arkansas and Southern Missouri, under the reckless Texan 
ranger. General Ben. McCullough, and were marching upon Spring- 
field. This force numbered 23,000 men, and on the 10th of August 
were encamped on Wilson's Creek, twelve miles southwest of Spring- 
field. General Lyon's effective force numbered less than 6,000 men. 
Weary days and sleepless nights he had waited in vain for reinforce- 
ments, and the time had now arrived when the salvation of his com- 
mand depended upon some bold movement. He determined to sur- 
prise the enemy by a night attack. He accordingly moved out of 
Springfield on the afternoon of the 9th, and came in sight of the 
the enemy's camp-fires at one o'clock in the morning. Here his men 
halted and slept on their arms till daybreak, when they took the 
enemy entirely by surprise and attacked him with great gallantry. 
The battle raged with a doubtful result for several hours, when General 
Lyon's horse was shot under him, and he had received three serious 
wounds. At this juncture he directed the fragments of three regi- 
ments to charge the enemy with the bayonet. Their officers were 
disabled and they called for a leader. Lyon mounted another horse, 
and waving his hat, called upon them to follow him. Inspired by his 
example, they rushed forward, and impetuously drove the enemy be- 
fore them. But in this charge the brave Lyon fell mortally wounded. 
He lived only long enough to express his consciousness that he must 
die. No purer or braver man ever gave his life to his country ; and 
on the long roll of patriots whose memory will live forever, few names 
will stand more conspicuous than that of Nathaniel Lyon. 

On the death of Lyon the command devolved on Major Sturgis. 
The enemy were repulsed at all points, and on the following morning 
the army retired in good order through Springfield to Rolla. If the 
battle of Wilson's Creek was not such a victory to the Union arms as 
was desirable, it was important in securing the safety of the army. If 
General Lyon had awaited an attack at Springfield, his command 
must have been destroyed or captured. 

In this campaign General Lyon was very ably supported by Colonel 
Sigel, an accomplished German officer, who harassed the movements 
of the enemy at all points, and at Carthage, on the 5th of July, fought 



690 



ADinXISTP.ATION OF LLN'COI^, 



a blooily bat unsuccessful battle, wiili severe loss on both sides. TJn- 
fortunatt'y at Springfield he failed to co-operate with General Ltou as 
vras expected, but performed important scrYice in assisting in the re- 
treat to Rolla, 

At Waeelin:::. Virginia, a convention of loyal men met on the 13th 
of May, declared the act withdrawiLg the State from the Union null 
and void, and proceeded to organize a new State, called Western Vir- 
ginia. General McGellan, with a body of Ohio and Indiana troops, 
iras ordered to proceed to Western Virginia, and sustain this move- 
ment of the loyal men. At Phillippi, on the 2d of June, he attacked 
a rebel force of 2,000 men, drove them from the town, and captured 
their camp equipage and seven hundred stand of arms. This was the 
opening battle of the war, and although it was not attended with a 
great loss of life, it was important as the first step towards reclaiming 
a sovereign State from the rebel power, and the first time that the 
raw troops of the Xorth were put to trial. McClellan vigorously 
fj'lowed up the flying enemy, fought and defeated him again at 
Pticb Mountain and Carrick's Ford, and by the 22d of July, when he 
tmned over his command to General Rosecrans and proceeded to take 
a higher command at Washington, he haA driven the enemy com- 
pletely beyond the boucdaries marked out for the new State, never 
to return, killed the rebel commander. General Gamett, and taken 
prisoner the second in command, and over one thousand soldiers be- 
sides. 

The Union cause sustained a severe loss by the death, on the 3d of 
Ji:i.e. l" S-e::l:.'5n A. Douglas, senator from Illinois. This remarkable 
d:: .: 15 : :r.:ve State, Vermont, penniless, a minor, and an orphan, 
an i 5 r : ::: the State of Illinois. In the intervals of his laborious 
duty as a sch : : ' s'.er, he became proficient as a lawyer, rose rapidly 
tJirough everv g:i::e of his profession, until at the early age of twenty- 
eight he was appointe'i a judge of the Supreme Court of the State. 
He " v!^: ^: :i::: :r_ t : take that of a member of the United States 
C ; _ - . z.?,:e he was soon transferred to the Senate, 

vrh .: - l.e r :-:v/;t } :i t: '. he died, '^'h en the rebellion broke out, no 
n:?/:t : :h : : : :r.t: v i?,-r :"e:,rer than he did that a war of such vast 
pre ::t;::.; ^is ir-a-gurate:; that it would demand the whole physical 
power of the Xonh to prosecute it. With an eloquence such as but 
fev^■ n.er. :r et^ age of the world have possessed, he exhorted his 
coant:- let t: tar.ish party feelings and "rally to the support of our 
oommcL eeaatiT. its crovernment and its fas:." His last words were 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



691 



in response to a q^uestion by bis wife, whether he had any message ta 
send his two absent sons. "Tell them/' said the dying statesman, "to 
obey the laws and support the constitution of the United States." 

On the 9th of June General Butler sent a strong detachment from 
Hampton and Newport News, under General Pierce, of Massachusetts, 
to attack the rebel fortifications at Big and Little Bethel, about eight 
miles distant. On approaching Little Bethel the enemy retreated, 
and General Pierce, mcautiously following them up, was drawn into 
the range of a masked battery, which opened upon his forces with 
such deadly effect that they were obliged to retreat. In this action 
Captain Greble, of the regular army, and Theodore Winthrop, an aid 
of General Butler, and an accomplished scholar and writer, were 
Among ^the killed. 

On the iVth General Schenck, commanding the 1st Ohio regiment, 
was drawn into an ambuscade near Vienna, on the Alexandria and 
Hampshire railroad, and twelve of his men killed. 

During this month General Banks took military possession of the 
city of Baltimore, and seized a large amount of arms and ammuni- 
tion which were destined for the South. The police commissioners oi 
the city protesting against this, he at once arrested them and sent 
them to Fort McHenry. The Legislature of the State was in the in- 
terest of the secessionists, and placed everything in the way of the 
government that they dared. Nothing but the presence of a strong 
military force prevented them from taking open ground for the re- 
bellion. 

The special session of Congress convened on the 4th of July, and 
remained in session until the 6th of August. All the measures recom- 
iiiendel by the President for prosecuting war on a gigantic scale were 
promptly adopted. He was authorized to raise 500,000 men and bor- 
row $250,000,000. Stringent laws were also passed concerning con- 
spiracies against the public peace, and confiscating property used for 
insurrectionary purposes. It was also provided that all slaves em- 
ployed in aiding or abetting insurrection should be free. 

It now became important to break up the rebel camp at Manassas 
Junction. For this purpose General Patterson was sent to Harper's 
Ferry to attack General Johnston, who had abandoned that place, but 
was encamped near it, and prevent him from uniting his forces with 
those of General Beauregard, at Manassas. General McDowell at the 
same time, crossed the Potomac at Washington, designing to attack 
the rebel army in front. He was not as well prepared to march as he 



692 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



desired, but time was precious to him, for 10,000 of the 53,000 men 
under him had enlisted for only three months, and before the 1st of 
August their term of enlistment would have expired. His design was 
to reach Centreville, seven miles east of Manassas, on the 17th, and 
bring on a battle on the 19th. A delay of two days, caused by the 
mexperience of his troops and the obstructions of the road, gave the 
enemy ample time to perfect his defences. It was not until Saturday 
evening, July 20, that General McDowell was able to gather his forces 
firmly in hand at Centreville, to launch them upon the enemy the fol- 
lowmg morning. Between the two hostile armies was a small stream 
called Bull Run. A reconnoissance by General Tyler showed that 
Blackburn's Ford, one passage over the Run, was defended, as was the 
Stone Bridge on the Warrenton turnpike, the direct road from Cen- 
treville to Manassas. Indeed it was found that the Run was fortified 
at every assailable point, and it was therefore deemed advisable to 
make the attack at two difi'erent points at once. 

At two o'clock on the morning of the 21st, the long roll was 
sounded, the troops were summoned to a hasty breakfast, and with 
three days rations in their knapsacks, were soon in position and on 
the march. 

Colonel Richardson marched up the southern road which led from 
Centreville to Bull Run. General Tyler, with Colonel Hunter, took 
the northern road, which diverged, the two forming the letter V, with 
Centreville at the lowest point and Bull Run passing along the top. 
General McDowell and staff" were with General Tyler. After advanc- 
ing two miles, Colonel Hunter turned to the right, marching obliquely 
towards the Run, which he was to cross some four miles higher up 
and then come down upon the intrenched positions of the enemy on 
the other side. Colonel Miles was left at Centreville and on the road, 
witb reserves which he was to bring up whenever they might be 
needed General Tyler went directly forward to engage the enemy in 
front, and send reinforcements to Colonel Hunter whenever it should 
be seen that he was engaged. 

' At five o'clock in the morning the roads were covered with troops 
as far as the eye could reach, advancing and taking positions. The 
northern road was quite hilly, like all the surface of this section. 
After going out about three miles, they came to a point down which 
the road, leading through the forest, descends ; then it proceeds, by a 
succession of rising and falling knolls, for a quarter of a mile, when it 
crosses a stone bridge, and then ascends, by a steady slope, to the 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



693 



heights beyond. At the top of that slope the rebels had planted 
heavy batteries, and the woods below were filled with their troops and 
with concealed cannon. The troops proceeded down the road to the 
first of the small knolls mentioned, when the whole column halted. 
The 30-pounder Parrott gun, which has a longer range than any other 
in the army, was planted directly in the road. Captain Ayres' bat- 
tery was stationed in the woods, a little to the right. The 1st Ohio 
and 2d New York regiments were thrown into the woods in advance, 
on the left. The 69th New York, the 1st, 2d and 3d Connecticut 
regiments, were ranged behind them, and the 2d Wisconsin was thrown 
into the woods on the right. 

At about half-past six o'clock the 30-poundcr threw two shells di- 
rectly into the battery at the summit of the slope, on the opposite 
height, one of which struck and exploded directly in the midst of the 
battery, and occasioned the utmost havoc and confusion. Captain 
Ayres threw ten or fifteen shot and shell from his battery into the 
same place. But both failed to elicit any reply. Men could be seen 
moving about the opposite slope, but the batteries were silent. At 
eight o'clock Colonel Richardson's column was at Bull Run, with a 
rebel battery in front of him, upon which he opened a fire with heavy 
cannon, but received no reply. 

Colonel Richardson kept up his fire at intervals, but no response was 
made. Colonel Tyler also threw out an occasional shot, but the 
enemy was silent. Away on the rising ground to the right. Colonel 
Hunter's axemen cleared his way through the forest. 

At eleven o'clock the 1st Ohio and 2d New York, which were lying 
in the wood on the left, were ordered to advance. Passinor out of the 
road and climbing a fence into a wood opposite, which they had 
barely approached, however, when they were met by a tremendous dis- 
charge of a four-gun battery, planted at the left, in the woods, mainly 
for the purpose of sweeping the road perpendicularly and the open 
field on its right, by which alone troops could pass forward to the op- 
posite bank. They were staggered for a moment, and received orders 
to retire. Captain Ayres' battery was advanced a little, so as to com- 
mand this battery, and by twenty minutes of vigorous play upon it, 
silenced it completely. 

Colonel Hunter's guns on the opposite height, over a mile to the 
right of Tyler's column, now opened a brisk fire. He was answered 
by batteries there, and then followed the sharp, rattling volleys of 
musketry as their infantry became engaged. The firing was now in- 



694 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



cessant. Hunter had come upon them suddenly, and formed his line 
of battle in an open field at the right of the road. The enemy drew 
up to oppose him, but he speedily drove them to retreat, and followed 
them up with the greatest vigor and rapidity. 

At noon long hues of dense dust were seen rising from the roads 
leading from Manassas, and, with the glass, it was clearly perceived 
that they were raised by the constant and steady stream of reinforce- 
ments which continued to pour in nearly the whole day. The 69th, 
VQth, 2d, and 8th New York, the 1st, 2d, and 3d Connecticut, and the 
2d Wisconsin, were brought forward in advance of the wood and 
marched across the field to the right, to go to Colonel Hunter's sup- 
port. They crossed the intervening stream and drew up in a small 
open field, separated from Colonel Hunter's column by a dense wood, 
which was filled with batteries and infantry. 

'Our guns continued to play upon the woods which concealed the 
enemy, and aided materially in clearing the way for the advance* 
Colonel Hunter pushed the rebels back from point to point. Now the 
battle appeared to have reached its climax. Hunter's and Heintzel- 
man's divisions were deep in the enemy's position, and our force, ex- 
cepting the 2d Brigade, was well at work. The discharges of artillery 
and musketry caused a continuous and unbroken roar, which some- 
times swelled tumultuously to terrific crashes, but never lulled. On 
the heights in front, bodies of infantry were plainly seen driving with 
fury one against the other, and slowly pressing towards the left — 
another proof that our advance was resisted in vain. At one moment 
the rebels seemed determined to risk all, rather than retieat. Many a 
regiment was brought to meet our onset, and all were swept back 
with the same impetuous charges. Prisoners who were subsequently 
brought in admitted that some of our troops, especially the list New 
York regiment, literally mowed down and annihilated double their 
number. Two Alabama regiments, in succession, were cut right and 
left by the 7 1st. 

At one P. M. the flanking column was fully discernible, and the 
junction of our forces was evidently not far distant. The gradual 
abandonment of their positions by the rebels could not be doubted. 
At some points they fled precipitately, but in most cases moved regu- 
larly to the rear. It is probable that they only deserted one strong 
post for another even stronger, and that however far we might have 
crushed them back, we should still have found them entrenched and 
fortified to the last — even to Manassas itself. But they had positively 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



695 



relinquished the entire line in which they had arrayed themselves 
against Tyler's division, except one fortified elevation at the left, which 
could and should have been carried by the 2d brigade an hour before. 
The enemy retreated before Hunter and Heintzelman, forsaking all 
excepting one powerful earthwork with lofty embankments, upon the 
highest ground of the field. It was this work which, later in the day, 
was stormed by the Zouaves and other regiments, and which, in spite 
of a daring and intrepidity which rebel prisoners spoke of with amize- 
ment, resisted their charge. But other important works had been 
carried by the 3d and 4th brigades, so that little appeared to remain 
for victory but to perfect the union of the two columns, and to hold 
the ground which had been won. 

At half-past one the fire slackened on both sides for several minutes. 
Although the movements of our own troops were mainly hidden, a 
peculiar activity could be seen among the enemy at the spot where 
they had been most vehemently repulsed by Heintzelman. A long 
line of apparently fresh regiments was brought forward and formed at 
the edge of a grove through which cur men had penetrated. Four 
times this line was broken, and reformed by its officers, who rode be- 
hind, and drove back those who fled, with their swords. A fifth time 
it was shattered, and reformed, but could not be made to stand fast, 
and was led back to the fortified ground. This aff"orded those who 
looked on from the lower battle-field a new ground for the conviction 
that triumph would be with us. 

For nearly an half an hour the enemy languished, and our move- 
ments seemed clogged by some mysterious obstacle. Schenck's 
brigade was brought forward a few hundred rods on the open road. 
In some places the aspect of the field was truly appalling. The enemy's 
dead lay strewn so thickly that they rested upon one another, the 
ground refusing space to many that had fallen. Our men had suffered 
much and lay around in great numbers. 

At half-past two the attention of those who gazed upon the dead 
was quickly turned from these awful results of the battle to the im- 
minent hazard of its renewal. Down on the left, which had so long 
been exposed, a new line of troops moved with an alacrity that indi- 
cated entire freshness. As they swept around to the very woods upon 
which the 2d brigade rested, the artillery from the last entrenchments 
they held upon this field — that which had been overrun betimes by 
our idle troops — opened with new vigor. Grape and round shot, most 
accurately aimed, struck the ground before, behind, and each side of 



696 



ADMINISTRATION OP LINCOLN. 



General Schenck and the officers under him. The Ohio regiments 
were somewhat sheltered by a cleft in the road, but the New York 2d 
was more exposed. General Schenck was in great danger, to which 
he seemed perfectly insensible, riding always through the hottest of 
the fire, as if nothing more serious than a shower of paper pellets 
threatened him. 

The work progressed. Captain Alexander, with the engineers, had 
completed a bridge across the Run, over which our ambulances were 
to pass for the wounded, and by which our artillery could be planted 
in new positions. Even then, although that stealthy column was 
winding, awkwardly for us, about our left, no person dreamed that the 
day was lost. The men of the brigade, at least, were firm, although 
they began to suffer severely. Horrible gaps and chasms appeared 
once or twice in the ranks of the New York 2d. Four men were torn 
in pieces by a single round of grape shot, and their blood was flung 
in great splashes over all who stood near. The carnage around 
seemed more terrific than it really was, so hideous was the nature of 
the wounds. 

At four o'clock the general battle seemed to have subsided ; nay, 
almost entirely to have ceased ; and nothing but an occasional great 
gun and isolated flirt of musketry proclaimed its continuance in 
any quarter. In their ignorance of the extent of the field, our 
forces imagined they had won a victory. They had shown greater 
dash and steadiness than the enemy from first to last, and while by far 
the most exposed, had inflicted a much heavier slaughter than they 
had undergone themselves. The whole aspect within our lines, or 
rather within the boundaries of our brigades, wore the look of triumph. 
Our enemies, wherever we had met them hand to hand, in anything 
like open opportunity, had sunk before us ; all their batteries immedi- 
ately within our reach had been silenced ; but, what was infinitely more 
conclusive, General McDowell, the commander-in-chief, now came 
jingling on the field, waving first his glove and then his hat, calling 
his men " brave boys," and telling them, with the grand air of Caesar, 
that they had won the day. 

After joyful shouts had gone down the wind after him, our tired 
legions flung themselves, by one accord, upon the ground, to take a 
brief snack at their haversacks, and to catch a few minutes' repose be- 
fore making their final dispositions for the day. Perhaps no army 
which had won a victory was ever more fatigued, and the men, as they 
lay upon their sides and rehearsed the horrors of the day, wondered 




ll/VisiNd 'I'liK AMi':iiiCAN UN l''oi;r Simiior. 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



697 



how they had held out so long. Many, however, had not even this 
repose, for they were bearing off their wounded comrades to the hos- 
pital, and others were searching for their sworn brethren-in-arms 
among the dead. These lay about in the most fantastic shapes, some 
absolutely headless, some represented by a gory trunk alone, some 
with smiles, and some with rage upon their lips, as they grasped their 
bent and curiously twisted weapons, and some actually rolled up like a 
ball. Whoever would study the eccentricities of carnage, might here 
have graduated through all the degrees of horror, to a full experience 
at once 

Nearly the whole of our army was now grouped pretty well to- 
gether. The brigades which had made the circuit against the enemy's 
side had been joined by those which had fought straight on ; and a 
glance at the field showed that the whole breadth of our battle had 
not spread over a mile and a half. An observation from Professor 
Lowe's balloon would have shown that, with all our prowess and heroic 
daring, we had merely cut a hole in the small end of the enemy's 
plateau of batteries, and that his rear, which General McDowell 
imagined he had turned, overhung us in massive wings, which still re- 
mained untouched. 

Suddenly, while the wearied army were at rest, the roar of battle 
broke out again in every direction, and batteries which had been 
thought mute forever, now opened with redoubled fury. The most 
terrific yells from the enemy accompanied the renewal of the conflict, 
and it became evident that, instead of having yielded to the untoward 
fortunes of the day, they had only been refreshing themselves while 
pouring new regiments into their lower works. 

The Burnside brigade was still upon the field, where they had re- 
ceived from General McDowell the news of victory, and consequently, 
had heard, with the surprise that was equal among all of our brigades, 
the angry re-opening of the fight. 

Suddenly, a long way up the rise, and issuing from the enemy's ex- 
treme left, appeared, slowly debouching into sight, a dense column of 
infantry, marching with slow and solid step. Rod by rod the massive 
column lengthened, not breaking off at the completion of a regiment, 
but still pouring on, and on, and on, till one regiment had lengthened 
into ten. Even then the stern tide did not pause. Still the solemn 
picture swelled its volume, till the ten regiments had doubled into 
twenty, and had taken the formation of three sides of a hollow square. 

The martial tide flowed on, the lengthening regiments growing into 



' ADMmiSTEATION OF LINCOLN. 

thirty thousand men, with a mass of black cavalry in its centre, the 
whole moving on with the solemn step of fate. This was war in all 
its pomp and glory, as well as in its strength, and our jaded army at 
once comprehended that they were beaten. In vain did their thoughts 
tarn quickly upon Patterson. It would not do. Johnston was there 
before him, with his cool, fresh thousands, and the battle was lost. 
That steady and united host outnumbered the whole of our worn and 
staggering columns, and it penetrated them with resistless power. 

Near the top of the hill, the rebel cavalry, having completely cir- 
cumvented our left, had charged in among a crowd of wounded and 
stragglers who surrounded a small building which had been used for a 
hospital. Nothing but the unexpected courage of a considerable 
number of unorganized men, many of them civilians, who seized 
the leadiest weapons and repelled the enemy, saved that point from 
bemg occupied. 

At 5 P. M. proofs of the panic which had stricken the army were 
fully disclosed. From the distant hills, our troops, disorganized, scat- 
tered, pallid with a terror which had no just cause, came pour- 
ing along, trampling down some, and spreading the contagion of 
their fear among all. It was even then a whirlwind which nothing 
could resist. 

In the race from a fancied danger, all divisions and all regiments 
were mingled. There was not even an attempt to cover the retreat of 
Tyler's division. "With Heintzelman's it was better; Lieutenant 
Drummond's cavalry troop keeping firm line, and protecting the artil- 
lery until its abandonment was imperatively ordered. The extent of 
its disorder was unlimited. Regulars and volunteers shared it alike. 
A mere fraction of our artillery was saved. TVhole batteries were left 
upon the field, and the cutting off" of others was ordered when the 
guns had already been brought two miles or more from the battle 
ground, and were as safe as they would be in Washington. A perfect 
frenzy was upon almost every man. Some cried piteously to be lifted 
behind those who rode on horses, and others sought to clamber into 
wagons, the occupants received them with bayonets. All sense of 
manhood seemed to be forgotten. 

Drivers of heavy wagons dashed down the steep road, reckless of 
the lives they endangered on the way. Even the sentiment of shame 
had gone. Some of the better men had tried to withstand the rush, 
and cried out against the flying troops, calling them " cowards, pol- 
troons, brutes," and reviling them for so degrading themselves, espe- 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



699 



cially when no enemy was near. Insensible to the epithets, the run- 
aways only looked relieved, and sought renewed assurances that their 
imagined pursuers were not upon them. Every impediment to flight 
was cast aside. All was lost to that army, even its honor. 

The reserves left with Colonel Miles at Centreville were unable to 
fully check the retreating crowd, but they did much to restore order, 
till it was apparent that the enemy were in no condition to take ad- 
vantage of their success by pursuit. 

The great error of the campaign which ended in this deplorable 
affair, was the failure to occupy Manassas in May, when Alexandria 
was occupied. Had this been done, the rebel army would have been 
held on the line of the Rappahannock. But that which most deranged 
the calculations of General Scott, who planned the campaign, was the 
failure of General Patterson to retain the forces of General Johnston in 
the valley of the Shenandoah, near HaJ'per's Ferry. General Patterson 
had a force of 23,000 men to hold in check a rebel force believed not 
to have exceeded 15,000 men. Yet the rebels succeeded in imposing 
upon Patterscm the belief that they had 40,000 men, and fairly paralyzed 
him with fear, while they, fresh and unexhausted, suddenly threw them- 
selves, at a critical and decisive moment, upon our wearied and bleed- 
ing columns, near the close of the memorable day at Manassas. 

This unexpected disaster had a most depressing effect upon the 
spirits of the North, and elated the South to a pitch of intolerable 
audacity and presumption. In the midst of criminations and recrim- 
inations as to where the responsibility rested, the loved and honored 
veteran. General Winfield Scott, the hero of two wars, who had the 
responsible charge of all army movements, but who was weighed down 
with the infirmities of old age almost to the level of childhood, re- 
quested that the command of the army of the Potomac might be 
placed in the hands of General George B. McClelian. General 
McClellan was at once appointed. He was then but thirty-four years 
of age. He had won the friendship of General Scott by important ser- 
vices in the battles of the valley of Mexico, and the country was then 
ringing with his praises for the masterly manner in which he had re- 
stored the Union authority in Western Virginia. He reached Wash- 
ington on the 26th of July, and on the 27th assumed the duties of his 
command. He found the army little better than a mob, and the gov- 
ernment and people alarmed for the safety of the capital. His first 
care was to restore order to the army. His next was to put the capi- 
tal in a state of defence, by the erection of a system of earthworks, be- 



100 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



hind which a small force could hold a large assailing force in check. 
Then he arranged his army for active field operations. From this time 
until the 31st day of October, when General Scott retired from active 
service, and General McClellan was appointed commander-in-chief of 
the armies of the United States, with headquarters at Washington, 
General McClellan devoted himself with unsurpassed industry to the 
great duties that devolved upon him. 

During the summer, the commerce of the country was subjected to 
great damage by the privateers of the South. The most noted of 
these, the Sumter and the Jefi" Davis, carried on their depredations 
almost in sight of our seaboard cities. They were greatly aided, if 
not encouraged, hy the maritime powers of Europe, all of whom ac- 
corded the South belligerent rights, which included all the rights of 
asylum that were necessary for procuring supplies for the prosecution 
of their nefarious business. The only right which the privateers were 
deprived of in European ports, was that of selling their prizes. The 
vessels they captured were therefore robbed of everything movable of 
value, and burned at sea. By the end of August more than one hun- 
dred merchant vessels were captured, and in this way destroyed. 

On the 26th of August, a fleet of six heavy frigates and gunboats, 
and a number of transports, left Fortress Monroe and sailed for Hat- 
teras Inlet, a noted refuge for privateers. Commodore Stringham 
commanded the fleet, and General B. F. Butler the troops. They 
reached the inlet on the 27th, and at once attacked the fort, which 
they compelled to capitulate on the 29th. The commander of the 
fort. Commodore Barron, was taken prisoner, together with 715 offi- 
cers and men, and they were all carried to New York. A large 
amount of ammunition and one thousand stand of arms were the prizes 
of this capture. This place was the key to Albemarle Sound, and was 
at once possessed and fortified by order of General Butler. 

At this time the attention of the country was directed to Missouri. 
On the death of Lyon, the Union forces were thrown upon the defensive. 
General Fremont, who had taken command of that department, on the 
31st of August issued a proclamation, placing the State under martial 
law, and for the first time in the history of the war, held over the 
slaveholders the threat of the emancipation of their slaves. He de- 
fined the lines of the army of occupation, and added, " All persons 
who shall be taken with arms in their hands within those lines, shall 
be tried by court martial, and, if found guilty, will be shot. The 
property, real and personal, of all persons in the State of Missouri, who 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



101 



shall take up arms against the United States, or who shall be directly 
proven to have taken active part with their enemies in the field, is de- 
clared to be confiscated to the public use ; and their slaves, if any they 
have, are hereby declared free men." 

This proclamation by Fremont alarmed even President Lincoln, and 
he at once ordered it to be modified to conform to the act of Congress, 
which sanctioned the emancipation only of such slaves as were ac- 
tually engaged by the rebels in military service. 

The rebel forces now literally swarmed over Kentucky and Mis- 
souri. At Springfield, Missouri, Colonel Mulligan, with a force of 
about 4,000 men, was attacked on the 10th of September by the rebel 
General Price, at the head of 25,000 men. For ten days the deter- 
mined heroes resisted the siege, but were then obliged to surrender 
prisoners of war. General Fremont set out from St. Louis with a 
competent force to dislodge Price from Springfield, and drive him out 
of the State. As he approached Springfield, Price fled, and Fremont 
took possession of the place on the 29th of October. Political in- 
trigues, however, which had been at work against Fremont since the 
publication of his emancipation proclamation, had finally done their 
work, and this gallant officer, now that he had overcome all difficulties 
and was prepared to follow up his successes and clear the State of the 
rebel armies, was superseded and ordered to transfer his command to 
General Hunter. This was on the 2d day of November. 

The battle of Ball's Bluff, on the Upper Potomac, on the 21st of Oc- 
tober, was most disastrous to the Union arms. At Leesburg, near this 
place, there was a strong rebel force, which General Stone deemed it im- 
portant to reconnoitre, to ascertain their position and numbers. He ac- 
cordingly crossed the Potomac with 1900 men, but unfortunately made 
no provision for recrossing in case of disaster. He was attacked by an 
overwhelming force, and after a fierce struggle, lasting a whole day, w^as 
obliged to retreat. Reaching the river and finding no means to cross, 
the men were crowded into the river, and many were drowned and others 
shot in the water while attempting to escape by swinaming. More than 
200 were killed or drowned at this place. Among the killed was the 
brave Colonel E. D. Baker, United States senator from Oregon, who 
volunteered to fight for his country during the recess of Congress, and 
fell a martyr to his patriotic zeal. 

With the exception of this fight, and an unimportant collision at 
Pensacola, at Harper's Ferry, at Frederickton, Missouri, and at Phil- 



702 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



lippi, in Western Virginia, there were no military events during this 
month. 

On the 1st of November, General McClellan took charge of the ar- 
mies of the United States, General Scott having withdrawn wholly 
from active life. 

On the 29th of October, an immense military and naval expedition, 
consisting of 84 vessels, carrying 20,000 men, left Hampton Roads for 
Port Eoyal Harbor, South Carolina. The military were under com- 
mand of Geneial T. W. Sherman, and the navy was commanded by 
Captain Samuel F. Dupont. Ou the 4th of November, the expedition 
reached its destination, and found that two heavily constructed fortifi- 
cations had been formed to protect the entrance of the harbor. On 
the 7th, the plan of attack upon these forts having been agreed upon, 
the fleet was put in motion. Sixteen selected vessels formed in a line 
and swiftly sailed around a circle between the forts, delivering their 
fire alternately at each fort as they passed. This novel mode of at- 
tack was completely successful. In three hours after the first gun was 
fired, the forts were rendered untenable and were evacuated, the occu- 
pants fleeing into the interior. Xot a vessel of the fleet was seriously 
injured, and only eight sailors were killed. This victory was an im- 
mense advantage to the Union cause. It provided the best harbor on 
the Southern coast, as a naval rendezvous, and furnished a strong po- 
sition about midway between Savannah and Charleston. Beaufort 
aud all the adjacent islands and towns were immediately taken pos- 
session of. 

On the 20th of November, a fleet of twenty-five old whale ships left 
New" London harbor, loaded with stone. They were taken to the en- 
trance of Charleston harbor, and there sunk, for the purpose of block- 
ading that harbor. This plan of blockading proved inefl'ectual, and 
was never afterwards repeated. 

At Belmont, Missouri, on the 7th of November, a sharp fight oc- 
curred between the Union forces under Generals Grant and AlcCler- 
nand, and the rebels encamped at that place. The result was a loss 
of about 600 men on each side, and the withdrawal of our troops to 
Cairo, Illinois, from which place they first set out. 

A few days prior to the assembling of Congress in December, an 
event occurred which gravely afi'ected our relations with Great Britain. 
Early in November, John Slidell, of Louisiana, and James Y. Mason, 
of Virginia, sailed from Charleston for Havana, for the pui-pose of 
intercepting the British steamer Trent, and taking passage in that ves- 



ADMINISTEATIOX OF LI2fC0LN. 



703 



sel for Europe. They were the accredited ministers from the rebel 
government to the comts of France and Great Britain, and their busi- 
ness was to seek the recognition of the independence of their govern- 
ment from those powers. They embarked on the Trent, and when 
near the Bermudas the Trent was overtaken by the United States 
frigate San Jacinto, commanded by Captain Wilkes, was forcibly 
stopped, Slidell, Mason, and all their attendants were seized by an 
armed force sent by Captain AYilkes for that purpose, in defiance of 
the protest of the officers of the Trent, and cari-ied as prisoners on 
board the San Jacinto. When the San Jacinto reached the United 
States, the prisoners were at once consigned to Fort Warren, in Boston 
harbor. The people with great enthusiasm applauded the act of Cap- 
tain Wilkes, and the Secretary of the Xavy, in his official report, dis- 
tinctly justified the act; but the administration were unable to recon- 
cile it with recognized principles of the law of nations, and on receiv- 
ing a vigorous demand for redress from the British authorities, they 
released the prisoners, and sent them on board a British vessel to be 
taken to Europe. 

On the assembling of Congress, measures were at once adopted to 
meet the terrible exigencies of the day. Unlimited power was con- 
ferred on the President to raise men and money to prosecute the war, 
and public sentiment fully sustained the representatives of the people. 
An enormous fleet of iron-clad gunboats for coast and river service was 
ordered, for the first time, by this Congress. 

The year 1862 opened by a suspension of specie payments by all 
the banks of the Union. The treasury department was prepared to 
supply the place of the bank currency by circulating notes of the gov- 
ernment, which were a legal tender for the payment of debts. A 
scheme for a national system of free banking was also adopted, which 
has finally supplanted all the State banks, as it was intended it should 
do. The winter season had suspended all great military operations; 
but in Kentucky, Missouri, and Virginia, collisions between detached 
forces were frequent, but indecisive. An exception to this should be 
made in the battle of Mill Spring, Kentucky, fought on the 19th of 
January, between the rebels under Generals ZollicofFer and Crittenden, 
and the Union forces under General Thomas. Zollicofl:er was killed, 
his army completely routed, and some 1200 horses and mules, and a 
large amount of arms and ammunition rewarded the victors. This 
victory laid open the route into East Tennessee, which the rebel gen- 
erals were guarding. 



^04 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



Early in February the army under General TJ. S. Grant, and the 
naval flotilla under command of Captain (since Rear-Admiral) A. HL 
Foote, were ready for active movements in Kentucky and Tennessee. 
Their first demonstration was upon Fort Henry, upon the Tennessee 
River. Captain Foote was ordered to sail up that river to the fort, and 
General Grant was to cooperate by land. The naval forces reached 
there on the 6th, and without waiting the arrival of the army, fire was 
at once opened upon the fort, and in an hour and a quarter the garri- 
son surrendered. 

Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River, a much larger and stronger 
work, garrisoned by 20,000 men, was next invested, and fire was 
opened upon it on the 13th. The gunboats at this place had no suc- 
cess. The batteries were so high that they sent plunging shot into 
the vessels, which were disabled, and a large number of the crews 
were killed or wounded. Among the wounded was Captain Foote, 
who received injuries from which he never fully recovered. The fight- 
ing was then pursued by the land forces, and for two days it raged 
with terrible fury. Twice the enemy came out from their defences 
and attacked Grant's forces with deadly effect. On the afternoon of 
the 15th, the advantage seemed to be with them, and many of Grant's 
oflScers were despondent. Not so with their general. At the darkest 
moment he ordered General C. F. Smith and General Lew. Wallace 
each to storm such points of the enemy's works as he designated, and 
to carry them " at whatever cost." These brave men executed their 
orders in a shower of bullets that seemed like the heaviest rain. The 
cost was great, but the points were gained. That night the rebel 
generals, Buckner, Floyd, and Pillow, held a council, and at the dawn 
of day, as General Grant was preparing to follow up the advantages 
which he had gained, they sent a messenger to him to appoint com- 
missioners to agree upon terms of surrender. Grant's reply has be- 
come historic. " No terms other than unconditional surrender can be 
accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works." 

The reply of General Buckner was the acceptance of what he styled 
the " ungenerous and unchivalrous terms." This surrender included 
13,000 prisoners, 3,000 horses, and a corresponding number of arms, 
etc. 

The rivers Tennessee and Cumberland were thus thrown open. The 
former is navigable by steamers to Florence, Alabama, 275 miles, and 
by boats some 250 miles further. The latter is navigable to Nash- 
ville, Tennessee, 200 miles, by steamer, and by boats 300 miles fur- 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



705 



tber. The advantage the occupation of these rivers gave the Union 
arms is incalculable. An immediate advance was made upon Nash- 
ville, which was occupied by General Buell, without resistance, and the 
whole country in the vicinity soon passed into the control of the Union 
forces. In fact, the entire State of Kentucky, and Missouri also, were 
abandoned by the rebel armies. 

The rebels, however, still held several strong places in the islands 
of the Mississippi River, which they had exhausted their ingenuity in 
fortifying. The most formidable place was Island No. 10, which was 
destined to give the Union forces serious trouble. This island was in- 
vested by a land force under General Pope, and a flotilla of gunboats 
under Captain Foote, early in March, and after a desperate resistance, 
finally capitulated on the 7th of April. 

The rebel force that invaded Missouri was driven into Arkansas, and 
at Pea Ridge, in this State, on the 6th, 7th, and 8th of March, was 
fought a most desperate battle, between the Union army, under Gen- 
erals Curtis and Sigel, and the rebels under Generals Van Dorn, Price 
and McCullough. The battle raged for three days, with alternate suc- 
cesses on both sides, when the enemy were finally driven from the 
field. . In this battle the rebel General McCullough was killed. 

A powerful expedition, under command of General A. E. Burnside, 
set sail from Fortress Monroe on the 12th of January, bound for the 
coast of North Carolina, and on the 7th of February had recovered 
from the severe storm it encountered so far as to be able to attack the 
works on Roanoke Island, in the narrow channel between Pamlico and 
Albemarle Sound. The attack by water was seconded by a land force, 
which carried a portion of the works by storm. The works were 
taken possession of, and the garrison surrendered as prisoners of war. 
General Burnside immediately proceeded up the Sound, and occupied 
Edenton, Elizabeth City, and other places accessible, and on the 14th 
of March, fought the enemy at Newbern, and took possession of that 
city. 

A general plan of operations was now agreed upon at Washington* 
The rebellious States were to be surrounded, and the rebellion crushed 
as if in the folds of a vast anaconda. The Western Department was 
placed under command of General Halleck ; the Department of the 
South, comprising South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, under General 
Hunter; the Department of the Gulf, comprising the coast of the Gulf 
of Mexico west of Pensacola Harbor, and the Gulf States, under Gen- 
eral Butler ; the country east of the Western Department and west of 



706 



ADillXISTKAnOX OF LINCOLN. 



Virginia was called the Mountain Department, and placed under Gen- 
eral Fremont ; and the Department of the Potomac under General 
McClellan. 

On the 26th of February, General Banks, commanding the right 
wing of the Army of the Potomac, crossed the Potomac at Harper's 
Ferry, and encamped at Charlestown. On the 6th of March, the di- 
rect advance was made from Washington. Centreville, Manassas and 
Fairfax Court House were occupied, and on the 4th of April, General 
McClellan, having turned South and concentrated the best portion of 
his army at Fortress Monroe, left that place for Yorktown, on the di- 
rect route to Richmond. 

A striking peculiarity in the navy at this time was the adoption 
and extensive introduction of the plan of protecting vessels with iron 
armor. The world had hitherto known little or nothing of this novel 
principle, and although a few iron-clad vessels had been built in Eng- 
land and France, the first test of their utility and power, in a contest 
where vessels of this character were opposed, remained to be furnished 
by this country. This test was afforded in the contest between the 
Merrimac and the Monitor in Hampton Ptoads, on the 9th of March. 
When the rebels seized upon the Xurfolk Navy Yard, they captured a 
number of government vessels, and among them the new and power- 
ful frigate Merrimac. This vessel they cut down and remodelled into 
a monster iron-clad, with a roofed top, and a tremendous beak of steel, 
like the " rostrum" of an ancient Roman galley ; and rendered thus 
secure, she was sent out from Norfolk, on the 8th, with several smaller 
craft, to attack the Federal fleet in the Roads. The experiment was 
successful ; the frigate Cumberland was sunk with nearly all on board, 
the Congress set on fire and destroyed, and the Minnesota run aground 
and crippled. The utmost consternation prevailed at Fortress Monroe 
and Newport News. A renewal of the attack next day was of course 
looked for, and the gloomiest anticipations were cherished. But an 
iron-clad nondescript, the result of the inventive genius of the distin- 
guished Captain Ericsson, had been in course of construction in New 
York for a short time previous. Seemingly as if for the purpose of 
meeting the very emergency which occurred, the work on this vessel 
had been hurried forward, and the strange structure got ready for ser- 
vice. On the evening of the 8th of March, under the command of 
Lieutenant J. L. Worden, she arrived at Fortress Monroe, and the 
next morninof when the Merrimac made her re-appearance and re- 
newed the attack on the Minnesota, this " cheese-box on a raft," as the 



ADMIXISTRATIOX OF LIXCOLX. 



707 



Monitor was contemptuously called, went forth single-handed to meet 
the rampant and powerful foe. It was, figuratively, David with a 
sling and a few stones from the brook, going out to single combat 
with the giant Goliath armed with ponderous sword and spear. Sur- 
prise and astonishment, it may be conceived, occupied the minds of 
all eye-witnesses of the singular spectacle, but especially were the foe 
taken aback when the diminutive craft, scarcely more than a hundred 
feet long, her mailed deck but a foot or two from the water, with a 
single revolving turret armed with only two large guns, boldly ap- 
proached and entered upon a contest as novel as it was persistent and 
fierce. After a rapid interchange of shots, the Merrimac perceiving 
the futility of trying to destroy her small antagonist by that method, 
attempted to run her down; but in this also she failed, while suffering 
material injury herself in the encounter. On the other hand, the 
Monitor, from her inferior size and consequent capacity of being han- 
dled with rapidity, was able to steam around her bulky foe, planting 
hundred-pound shots in rapid succession against the Merrimac's most 
vulnerable parts, and, finally, after a protracted engagement, succeed- 
ing in crippling her powerful adversary, so that the Merrimac Avas 
forced to retire from the contest and be conveyed back to Norfolk for 
repairs. This naval encounter, so novel in its nature, and remarkable 
in its results, attracted universal attention at home and abroad, and 
was the means of initiating the most radical changes in naval archi- 
tecture and warfare. The noble little monitor subsequently (Decem- 
ber 31st of the same year) foundered in a gale off Cape Hatteras, 
After the surrender of Norfolk, and findinor that the Merrimac could 
not be taken up the James River, she was destroyed by the rebels on 
the 11th of May, to prevent her from falling into the hands of the 
Union forces. 

Turning to Tennessee, events of great importance are there progress- 
ing at this time. After the capture of Fort Donelson, General Grant 
pushed forward his army to gain a foothold where he could cut off 
communications between Western Tennessee and the Eastern and 
Southern States. Ordering General Buell to join him from Nashville, 
he occupied Pittsburg Landing, on the Tennessee River, preparatory 
to an attack upon the rebel army at Corinth. At that place the best 
army of the South was encamped, under the command of their ablest 
general, Albert Sidney Johnston, who was assisted by Generals Beau- 
regard, Hardee, Bragg, Cheatham, Polk, and Breckinridge. Johnston 
determined to attack Grant before Buell could join him, designing, if 



708 



ADMINTSTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



lie defeated him, to push forward and crash Buell also. Accordinoly^ 
early in the morning of the 6th of April, the rebel army, 60,000 strong, 
surprised General Grant by a powerful attack upon his lines. The 
contest lasted through the day, and until night separated the com- 
batants. The Union forces were defeated at every point, after a most 
desperate resistance, and driven to the river under the shelter of their 
gunboats. They lost their camp, camp equipage, and about half their 
field artillery. The slaughter on both sides was dreadful. Soon after 
noon, the rebel general-in-chief, Johnston, fell, mortally wounded, and 
the command devolved upon General Beauregard. That night the 
rebels occupied General Grant's camp, but were allowed no rest, for the 
gunboats kept up an unceasing fire upon them. The army of General 
Buell arrived in the evening, and in the morning were fresh and ready 
for the fight. They opened the fight early, and soon regained the 
ground lost the day before, and repulsed the enemy, who retired in 
disorder to Corinth. The numbers engaged on each side were about 
equal, and the losses in killed, wounded, and prisoners also about the 
same, viz., about 12,000. This battle is usually styled the battle of 
Shiloh, after a small church of that name situated between the two 
armies. 

General Halleck now assumed command, being superior in rank to 
Grant and Buell, pursued the enemy to Corinth, and laid such close 
siege to that place, that the enemy were obliged to evacuate it on the 
28th of May. In the meantime, Memphis having been captured by 
the Mississippi flotilla under Commodore Davis, the river to Yicksburg 
and the whole of Western Tennessee and Northern Mississippi was in 
the undisputed possession of the Union armies. 

Early in April a fleet of armed steamers, and twenty bomb-schooners, 
carrying mortars for fifteen-inch shells, arrived at the mouth of the 
Mississippi, destined for the capture of New Orleans. The whole 
fleet was under the command of Commodore David G. Farragut, the 
bomb vessels under command of Commodore David D. Porter, and 
the land forces on board were commanded by General B. F. Butler. 

Seventy -five miles below New Orleans, situated on opposite banks, 
were tvt^o strong forts, Jackson and St. Philip. Across the river, at a 
point where the fire of the two forts could be most eff'ectually concen- 
trated, was a heavy chain, which the rebel engineers supposed could 
not be broken, and which, in their opinion, obstructed the passage of 
vessels of war. Heavy land batteries also lined the banks of the river 
near the forts. On the 18th of April Farragut opened the whole 



ADMIXISTEATIOX OF LINCOLN. 



709 



power of Lis fleet upon the lower fort, Jackson. For six days a 
shower of shot and shell was rained upon the fort, such as, perhaps, 
the world had never seen. Still the fort held out without any percep- 
tible injury. Finally, on the 23d, Farragut determined to make a 
united attack, and in his determined language, to " conquer or to be 
conquered." lie visited every vessel of his fleet, to animate his men, 
and to personally superintend the preparations for the preservation of 
life. At two o'clock on the following morning, the fleet weighed 
anchor, broke through the chain, and were abreast the forts before 
they were discovered. A tremendous fire was now opened on both 
sides. At the same time a large rebel fleet of iron-clads and gunboats 
advanced to the conflict from above, and our fleet seemed literally cast 
into a furnace of fire. A large fire-raft was pushed against the flag- 
ship of the Commodore, but did no damage. Of the whole fleet, only 
one, the Varuna, was sunk, and four obliged to retire. The rest of 
the fleet steadily passed up the river, destroying thirteen of the enemy's 
vessels and iron-clads, and overcoming all the obstacles in the channel. 
At noon on the following day they anchored in front of the city of 
New Orleans, and received the capitulation of the city. Four days 
later all the forts of the river were surrendered, and garrisoned by the 
troops of General Butler. The general fixed his headquarters at New 
Orleans. Thus, before the invincible Farragut, fell the great strong- 
hold of the rebellion, and a permanent lodgment was made at a point 
which the rebels might have held without advantage, but the loss of 
which was an irreparable blow at their very vitals. 

At the break of day on the morning of the 10th of April, eleven 
batterries which had been erected on Tybee Island, under direction of 
General Gilmore, opened fire on Fort Pulaski, a powerful fortress 
which commanded the entrance of Savannah River. By two o'clock 
in the afternoon, the fort was literally knocked in pieces, and was sur- 
rendered. 

On the 2Vth of the same mon*h. Fort Macon, near Beaufort, North 
Carolina, surrendered to General Bui'nside, after a terrific bombard- 
ment of twenty-four hours. 

Turning now to the advance upon Richmond, we find General 
McClellan on the Tth of April, seated before the strongly fortified 
position of Yorktown, with an army of 85,000 men. He besieged the 
place till the 4th of May, when, as he was about to carry the enemy's 
works by assault, they abandoned them, leaving seventy heavy guns 
and a large amount of stores and ammunition, as a prize to the c^i.p- 



710 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



tors. The enemy fell back to Williamsburgli, but were suddenly at- 
tacked there on the 6th, and after a severe fight, were driven in con- 
fusion towards Richmond. 

The evacuation of these two places was immediately followed by the 
capture, without resistance, of the important city of Norfolk, by a force 
sent out from Fortress Monroe by General Wool. Before leaving the 
city, however, the rebels destroyed the fine navy yard, and rendered 
all the public works about the city useless. 

In the meantime events of great importance were progressing in the 
Shenandoah Valley. On the 23d of March, General Shields, com- 
manding under General Banks, attacked the rebel general, Thomas J. 
Jackson (afterwards famous as Stonewall Jackson), at AVinchester, and 
defeated him. Jackson retreated to Harrisonburg. On the 8th of 
May he again encountered the Union generals, Milroy and Schenck, 
at Bull Pasture Mountain, when an indecisive action was had. Jack- 
son then marched to New Market, where he was joined by Ewell's 
division, when he turned upon a small Union force at Front lioyal, 
under Colonel Kenbey, which he cut to pieces. He then swiftly 
marched upon Strasburg, where General Banks was encamped, at- 
tacked him on the 23d of May, defeated him, and by forced marches 
drove him back to the north bank of the Potomac, with a heavy loss 
of men and baggage. . Reaching the Potomac, General Jackson showed 
no disposition to go further, but at once commenced to fall back. At 
Cross Keys he was overtaken by General Fremont on the 8th of June, 
and after a severe fight was compelled still further to fall back to Port 
Republic, where he met and engaged a force under General Shields, 
and compelled them to retire. General Jackson then retired upon 
Charlottesville, and w^as next heard of in the great struggle before 
Richmond. 

On the 9th of May General Hunter, commanding the States of 
Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina, issued a proclamation placing 
those States under martial law, and declared that " slavery and martial 
law in a free country being altogether incompatible, the persons in 
these three States heretofore held as slaves are therefore declared free." 
The President immediately revoked this proclamation as unauthorized 
and therefore void. 

The great point of interest now was the siege of Richmond, which 
General MoClellan had entered upon in earnest, by the route of the 
great peninsula formed by the York and James Rivers. On the 20th 
of May his advanced troops had reached the Chickahominy River, at 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



711 



Bottom's Bridge, only twelve miles in a direct line from Richmond, 
and on the same day General Casey crossed the river and occupied the 
opposite heights. The general depot for supplies and ammunition 
was fixed at the White House, on the Pamunkey River, some ten 
miles from Bottom's Bridge, a place notable as the family seat of the 
wife of Washington. 

Learning that a strong rebel force had advanced to Hanover Court 
House, which was to the right and rear of his position. General 
McClellan sent General Fitz John Porter to dislodge or defeat them. 
This he accomplished on the 27th of May, after an action which was 
hotly contested during nearly a whole day. He destroyed the enemy's 
camp and took a large number of prisoners. 

Our army was now massed on both sides of the Chickahominy, a 
river which is at this place a narrow and shallow stream in dry 
weather, but in a rainy season, a broad and almost impassable flood. 
At this time the rains were incessant, which not only raised the river 
to a flood, but rendered the roads of the Peninsula so bad that horses 
sank to their knees, and wagons to their wheel hubs. 

On the south side of the river. General Casey's and General Couch's 
divisions were at Seven Pines and Fair Oaks, under General Keyes ; 
while under General Heintzelman were Generals Hooker and Kearney, 
at Savage's Station and White Oak Swamp. Every position was well 
fortified. During the day and night of May 30, a rain storm of un- 
usual severity prevailed. The rebels seized this opportunity to make 
an attack upon our forces on the south side of the river. Accordingly, 
on the morning of the 31st, an immense rebel force, under Generals 
Longstreet, Hill, Huger, and Smith, was seen advancing from Rich- 
mond to the attack. At eight o'clock all but Huger were ready for 
the fight. Fortunately he was detained by the mud. Wearied with 
waiting for him, at one o'clock. Hill and Longstreet fell in great fury 
upon Casey's division, and overwhelmed it. They retreated slowly to 
the river, and took no further part in the action. The enemy took 
possession of Casey's camp, and then turned upon Couch's division. 
This division stood firm for a time, but although the best portions of 
Heintzelman's and Kearney's forces came upon the field, with the gal- 
lant Kearney at their head, they were all overpowered, and the enemy 
were securing a position in their rear. Had they succeeded in this, 
the loss of our entire army would have been inevitable. But at this 
time (6 o'clock P. M.) General Sumner, with General Sedgwick's 
division, had succeeded in throwing a bridge across the river, and sud- 



712 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



denly appeared upon the enemy's flank and opened a heavy battery 
upon his wearied troops. Luckily, at this exact moment, the rebel 
commander-in-chief. General J. E. Johnston, who had appeared upon 
the field about an hour before to rally and direct his array, was struck 
from his horse by a shell and severely wounded. In the confusion in 
the rebel ranks that followed these events night came on, and the 
fighting ceased. The following morning the rebels renewed the fight 
at an early hour, but the fresh men of Howard and Richardson who 
had been brought up, turned back the tide of battle, and charging 
upon the yielding rebel lines with fixed bayonets, tbey repulsed them 
at all points, and drove them back to within five miles of the ci*"y of 
Richmond. This was the great battle of Fair Oaks, or Seven Pines, 
as it is sometimes called. In this fight the Union loss was 5,737, and 
the rebel loss 6,783. 

At this time General McClellan's line covered a distance of about 
fifteen miles in length, from White Oak Swamp on the south to 
Mechanicsville on the north. His base of supplies was at the White 
House on the Pamunkey River. That this line was too long for the 
number of men he had to hold it, became evident to him on the 13th of 
June, when the rebel General Stuart, with 1,500 cavalry, made a sudden 
dash upon the force at Hanover Court House, overpowered it, and be- 
fore night had swept completely around the Union army, destroying a 
large amount of stores, and carrying into the rebel lines, not only a 
large number of prisoners, but a full sketch of McClellan's position. 
General McClellan at once determined to change his base of supplies 
to the James River, and gradually draw back to a position on that 
river near Harrison's Landing. The enemy in front had been rein- 
forced till they numbered over 100,000 men. Tbey were concentrated 
and prepared to attack any portion of our extended line that promised 
the greatest advantage to them. McClellan asked the President 
for reinforcements. But the President deemed it necessary to guard 
Washington by all the available troops in that quarter. McClel- 
lan therefore resolved to advance upon Richmond with the men 
he had, at the same time protesting, in an earnest despatch to 
the Secretary of War, on the 28th, " If I save this army now, 
I tell you plainly that I owe no thanks to you, or to any other 
persons in Washington. You have done your best to sacrifice this 
army." He fixed upon Thursday, the 26th of June, for a final attack, 
but the enemy anticipated him by making, on that day, a desperate 
attack on his extreme right at Mechanicsville. They were repulsed by 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



713 



General Reynolds. Again they advanced, and were again repulsed by 
General Seymour. 

The next day, the 27th, they again advanced to the charge in larger 
numbers, and at Gaines' Mill gained a decisive victory, driving back 
the Union forces across the river, and laying open to capture the depot 
of supplies at the White House. All the immense amount of stores 
at this place that could be, were removed at once, and all that could 
not be carried away were destroyed. 

General McClellan's flank movement to the James River was now 
imperative. He saw that he was overwhelmed by a vastly superior 
force, and all his thoughts were turned to the salvation of his men. 

Saturday, the 28th, Sunday, the 29th, and Monday, the 30th of 
June, were marked by the most stubborn resistance of the Union 
troops, as the clouds of rebel troops fell upon them, and gradually 
pushed them back towards the James River. At Savage's Station 
and at Nelson's Farm, battles were fought which, had they been 
isolated, would have formed great events in the history of the war, 
but mingled as they were with the terrific fighting of the memorable 
Seven Days, they were mere incidents. 

On Tuesday, July 1st, the army had reached and were encamped 
on Malvern Hill, an elevated plateau, in full sight of the James River 
and of the gunboats and transports which were moored at Harrison's 
Landing. Here they were ranged in compact order of battle. The 
left wing rested near the river, and was protected by the gunboats. 
No sooner was the order of battle formed, than the rebels made an 
attack upon the right. They were repulsed with great slaughter. 
After two hours of rest they renewed the attack on the left, and here, 
until night closed the scene, they threw themselves with the most de- 
termined bravery upon our lines, regardless of the tempest of grape, 
canister, and shell, that poured upon them from our massed artillery, 
and the great projectiles that were hurled upon them from our gun- 
boats in the river. Darkness closed the scene. The battle of Malvern 
Hill was over, and with it closed the Seven Days' fighting. The next 
morning our army retired without molestation upon the banks of the 
river, under cover of the gunboats, and were refreshed by the ample 
supplies of the transports. Fifteen thousand of their comrades had 
been left behind, either killed, wounded, or missing. For seven days 
and nights, with no rest and little food, they had performed prodigies 
of valor, and were now permitted a short season of rest. 

It was the design of General McClellan to reinforce the army, and 



714 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



prepare for another advance upon the rebel capital. But this was not 
deemed advisable by the War Department, and preparations were 
made to withdraw the army from the James River. 

In the meantime a heavy rebel force, under General Robert E. Lee, 
who was now in supreme command of the rebel army of Virginia, 
pushed northward from Richmond, with the design of advancing upon 
Washington. General Pope, in command of the defences of Wash- 
ington, sent a force to intercept him. General Banks met the advance 
of the rebel army, under Stonewall Jackson, at Cedar Mountain, near 
the Rapidan River, on the 9th of August, and was forced back after a 
sharp engagement. A series of raids upon the Union supply stations 
and trains followed this affair, until the 26th of August, at which time 
the entire rebel army was upon the Rappahannock, and confronting 
General Pope. On the 27th, General Hooker attacked a portion of 
them at Kettle Run, but without any decisive result. On the 28th 
McDowell and Sigel attacked the enemy at Centreville, and after an 
action which was only terminated by darkness, the enemy retired to 
their old defences at Bull Run. Here, on the 29th, General Pope 
attacked them with his whole force, and, as he supposed, after a ter- 
rible conflict, drove them from their entrenchments. But they only 
fell back to meet their reinforcements. The next day they advanced 
and drove Pope back to Centreville, where he remained unmolested 
till the 2d of September, when a heavy rebel force under Jackson 
attacked our supply trains at Chantilly, near Fairfax Court House, 
capturing a large number of wagons. In driving back this force, the 
Union cause suffered a severe loss in the death of Generals Stevens 
and Kearney, who were both killed upon the field. On the following 
day General Pope withdrew his whole army, in great confusion, to 
Arlington Heights, in front of Washington. His campaign had also 
been a failure. 

The army of the Potomac had now arrived at Washington, and the 
defence of the capital was placed in the hands of General McClellan. 
The President on the 4th of August had called for 300,000 men for 
nine months, and on the 15th, for 300,000 men for three years. 

The enemy, flushed with a series of successes, now rapidly marched 
up the south bank of the Potomac, forded the river near Point of 
Rocks, and on the 6th of September encamped in Frederick, Mary- 
land. From this place General Lee issued a proclamation to the 
people of Maryland, calling upon them to join his standard and he 
would protect them from the wrongs and outrages of the Washington 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



715 



government. But his address was unheeded. He then drew up his 
force along the crest of South Mountain, and awaited the approach of 
General McClellan. At the same time he despatched General Jackson 
to Harper's Ferry, who captured that place, with 11,000 prisoners, 
on the 15th, but not until the commander, Colonel Miles, had been 
killed. 

General McClellan had now for his corps and division commanders, 
Burnside, Sumner, Franklin, Reno, Hooker, Williams, Mansfield, and 
Sykes: Lee had Stonewall Jackson, Longstreet, McLaws, Walker, 
Hill, and Stuart. On the 14tb, the battle of South Mountain was 
fought, being opened by our right wing, under Hooker. It was a 
steady hand to hand fight, which lasted through the day, and resulted 
in the discomfiture of Lee, who was obliged to fall back towards 
the Potomac, in the direction of Williamsport. In this battle the 
brave General Reno was killed. The same day General Franklin 
attacked the reserves of Lee's army at Crampton's Pass, and drove 
them in upon the main army. 

Jackson, having left a guard at Harper's Ferry, proceeded to join 
the main army, which was now posted behind the Antietam Creek, 
near Sharpsburg. Here, at daylight on the morning of the 17th, 
commenced "the greatest battle since Waterloo." Two hundred 
thousand men, an equal number on each side, were here engaged, 
with five hundred pieces of artillery, from the opening of the fight till 
they were separated by the darkness of night; and nearly thirty 
thousand were dead or wounded on the field. The tide of battle 
swayed with varying results during the day, nearly all the ground 
upon which it was fought being taken and retaken in turn. Generals 
Mansfield, Richardson, and Rodman were killed, and Hooker, Sedg- 
wick, Meagher, Hartsufi", and Dana were wounded and carried from 
the field. Both armies slept upon the field, expecting to renew the 
fight on the morning of the 18th. But the enemy retired from his 
position, and crossed the Potomac into Virginia. General McClellan 
did not follow them up, and they departed unmolested, abandoning 
every place they had occupied north of the Potomac, Harper's Ferry 
included. 

On the 22d day of September, President Lincoln issued his famous 
proclamation to the people of the South, calling upon them to return 
to their allegiance to the government, and warning them if they did 
not, that he would, on the 1st day of January, 1863, declare that all 
slaves within any State, or any designated part of a State, the people 



716 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



whereof should then be in rebellion ao^ainst the United States, should 
be thenceforth and forever free. 

General J. E. B. Stuart, with a force of 2,000 rebel cavalry, made a 
most daring raid into Pennsylvania, on the 10th and 11th of October. 
He reached Chambersburg, burnt all the government property, sup- 
plied himself with fresh horses, and after capturing a large amount of 
stores and supplies, passed rapidly around our army in Maryland, and 
crossed the Potomac into Virginia. 

The month of October was consumed in preparing for a forward 
movement, and on the 2d of November, the army was all across the 
Potomac, and on the 7th had reached Warrenton, and was in admir- 
able condition and spirits, and expecting to attack Longstreet's division 
of the rebel army, which was near by. On the evening of that day 
McClellan received an order to turn over his command to General 
Burnside, and report from Trenton, New Jersey. This closed the 
military career of General McClellan, for he was never again called to 
command. His career has been severely condemned by some, but 
among his friends he can count some of the best military minds of the 
age. All admit that he had a thorough scientific knowledge of his 
profession, and no man ever charged him with a lack of devotion to 
the cause of the government. 

Meanwhile affairs were not wholly satisfactory in the Mississippi 
Valley. General Curtis, who took command of the army of Missouri 
after the battle of Pea Ridge, had penetrated into Arkansas, but was 
obliged to retreat. Lexington and Frankfort, Kentucky, had been 
occupied by a rebel force under Kirby Smith, and, in short, that State 
seemed to be overrun by the enemy. To offset these disasters, on the 
19th and 20th of September, General Rosecrans gained a decided vic- 
tory, at luka, Mississippi, over the rebels under command of General 
Price. Price retreated, formed a junction with Van Dorn and Lovell, 
and attacked our camp at Corinth, under General Rosecrans, but after 
a three days' fight, was repulsed with great loss. This was on the 
3d, 4th, and 5th of October. This virtually restored the Union 
authority in all parts of Western Tennessee. 

General Rosecrans now proceeded to Nashville. From this place 
he marched, on the 26th of December, to attack the enemy at Mur- 
freesboro', about thirty miles distant, where they were encamped in 
great force, under General Bragg. He reached the vicinity of Mur- 
freesboro' on the 30th, and on the morning of the 31st, when three 
miles distant, was suddenly attacked by the enemy, and the right wing 



ADMINISTKATIOX OF LINCOLN. 



717 



of his army, under General McCook, was repulsed in great confusion. 
From this time to the 4th of January, the most stubborn fighting was 
maintained by both sides, when Bragg finally was forced to yield. He 
evacuated Murfreesboro' and fled in much confusion. The Union 
losses in this battle were about 7,000 in killed and wounded. 

At Fayetteville, Arkansas, on the 7th of December, a severe battle 
was fought by the Union army under Generals Herron and Blunt, and 
a superior rebel force, which resulted in a complete victory to the 
Union arms. 

When the army of the Potomac was turned over to GenerrJ Burn- 
side, immediate preparations were made to advance upon Richmond 
by way of the Rappahannock. On the 11th of December the army 
was massed on that river opposite Fredericksburg, and the bombard- 
ment of that place was opened. Pontoon bridges were laid and the 
army crossed on the morning of the 12th, without serious opposition, 
and took possession of the city. The enemy fell back to a strongly 
entrenched position in the rear. Here they were attacked on the 
morning of the 13th, by General Franklin on the right and General 
Couch in the centre ; but after an all-day's fight of the most desperate 
character, it was found that no impression could be made on the 
enemy's works, and the contest was abandoned. On the 15th General 
Burnside recrossed the river and encamped. 

At the same time that these events were occurrino- m Yirg-inia, 
General Foster advanced from Newbern, North Carolina, and attacked 
the enemy at Kinston. He repulsed them after a severe fight on the 
13th, took possession of the town, advanced upon Goldsborough, and 
after destroying the railroad at that place, returned to Newbern, hav- 
ing accomplished all that he desired. 

The time was now approaching when the President had notified the 
South that he should resort to the extreme measure of a general liber- 
ation of their slaves, unless they should return to their allegiance to the 
government. The rebellion was more virulent than ever. The rebel 
President, anticipating the action of President Lincoln, had issued an 
order declaring that all negro slaves caught in arras should not be 
treated as prisoners of war, but as felons, and be dealt with accordingly ; 
and all white ofiicers caught in command of slaves should be treated 
in the same manner. 

Acting upon his promise, and as a necessity of the military situation, 
the President opened the new year, 1863, with the publication of his 
immortal proclamation, by which the chains of 3,120,000 bondmen 



718 



ADMIXISTRATIOX OF LIXCOLN. 



were stricken off and they were declared free men. The proclamation 
is here given : 

"Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of 
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty -two, a proclamation 
was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among 
other things, the following, to wit : 

"'That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one 
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves 
within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof 
shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, 
thenceforth, and forever free, and the executive government of the 
United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, 
will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will 
do no act or acts to repress such persons, -or any of them, in any 
efforts they may make for their actual freedom. 

" ' That the executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by 
proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which 
the people thereof respectively shall then be in rebellion against the 
United States, and the fact that any State, or the people thereof shall 
on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United 
States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of 
the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the 
absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evi- 
dence that such State and the people thereof are not then in rebellion 
against the L^nited States.' 

"Kow, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United 
States, by virtue of the power in me vested as commander-in-chief of 
the army and navy of the United States in time of actual armed re- 
bellion against the authority and government of the United States, and 
as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, 
on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, 
publicly proclaim for the full period of one hundred days from the 
day of the first above-mentioned order, and designate, as the States 
and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively are this 
day in rebellion against the L'nited States, the following, to wit : Ar- 
kansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaque- 
mines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assump- 
tion, Terre Bonne, La Fourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, in- 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



719 



eluding the city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, 
South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia (except the forty-eight 
counties designated as West Virginia, and also in the counties of Ber- 
kely, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, 
and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and 
which excepted parts are for the present left precisely as if this pro- 
clamation were not issued. 

" And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do 
order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated 
States and parts of States are, and henceforward shall be free ! and 
that the executive government of the United States, including the 
military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the 
freedom of said persons. 

"And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free, to ab- 
stain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence, and I recom- 
mend to them that in all cases, when allowed, they labor faithfully for 
reasonable w^ages. 

"And I further declare and make known that such persons of suita- 
ble condition will be received into the armed service of the United 
States, to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to 
man vessels of all sorts in said service. 

" And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, war- 
ranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the 
considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty 
God. 

" In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name, and caused the 
seal of the United States to be affixed. 

"Done at the city of Washington, this first day of January, in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
[l.s.] three, and of the Independence of the United States the 
eighty-seventh. 

"A. LINCOLN. 

" By the President, 

"Wm. H. Seward, 

" Secretary of State." 

The number of slaves excepted in this proclamation amounted to 
830,000. This document was received with great favor in the loyal 
States, and at once enlisted a powerful support in Europe for the 
Union cause, which had previously been withheld. 



120 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



The Mississippi River was still closed. This great outlet for the 
surplus products of the West had been cleared of obstructions at its 
mouth, and at Memphis, and above, but at Vicksburg, about 400 miles 
above New Orleans, the rebels had exhausted the engineer's art in 
constructing fortifications which were deemed impregnable, and which 
effectually guarded the channel of the river. At Port Hudson, about 
midway between Vicksburg and New Orleans, powerful fortifications 
had also been constructed to impede the navigation of the river. For- 
tifications were also erected at Grand Gulf and several other less im- 
portant places. Immediately after the capture of New Orleans, in 
June, 1862, Commodore Farragut proceeded up the river with his vic- 
torious fleet, passed Port Hudson with little difiiculty, and ineffectually 
bombarded Vicksburg for several days. Afterwards an attempt was 
made by General Williams to cut a passage across a bend in the river 
in front of the city, so as to form a new channel through which the 
navigation of the river might be opened without passing near the city. 
This also failed. The capture of this stronghold now devolved upon 
General Grant. Early in December, 1862, General Grant opdered 
General Sherman to proceed down the river from Memphis, and on 
the 26th of that month to attack Vicksburg, while he (General Grant) 
would move upon the city from the direction of Jackson, and support 
the attack on that side. Grant had his depot of supplies at Holly 
Springs, under the charge of Colonel Murphy. The day General 
Sherman left Memphis (the 20th), and after he had proceeded too far 
to be notified of the disaster and recalled, this depot was attacked by 
a small rebel force under Van Dorn, to whom Colonel Murphy sur- 
rendered, and all the supplies were either carried away or destroyed. 
This prevented General Grant from moving his army until he could 
obtain new supplies from Memphis. In the meantime General Sher- 
man reached Vicksburg on the 26th, and on that and the three follow- 
ing days charged upon the defences of the city at the Chickasaw 
Bluffs, with the most desperate valor ; but not being supported by 
Grant, as he expected, he then retired, and returned to Memphis. 
The siege of Vicksburg was then suspended for several months, but 
not abandoned. 

The early part of 1863 was marked by the most remarkable activity 
of the rebel privateers. The most noted of them, the Alabama and 
Florida, destroyed millions of our commerce, and successfully eluded 
pursuit. Their practice was to capture unarmed merchant vessels and 
destroy them, after rescuing their passengers and crews, whom they 



ADMINISTRATION^ OF LIXCOLX. 



121 



would detain in irons until they could place tbem on other vessels and 
send them into port. 

On the 24th of January General Burnside was relieved of the com- 
mand of the army of the Potomac, and General Hooker appointed in 
his place. General Hooker at once commenced preparations to re- 
cross the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg, regain the ground lost by 
General Burnside, and push on to Richmond. It was not until the 
2'7th of April that he commenced to move across the river. His plan 
was to make several feints at crossing below Fredericksburg, to deceive 
the enemy, while in fact the main body of the army should cross at 
Kelly's Ford, twenty-five miles above, and by a rapid march, gain the 
rear of the rebel army, and secure a position between them and Rich- 
mond. At the same time a heavy body of cavalry, under Genera) 
Stoneman, were ordered to cross below and cut the railroad leading 
from Fredericksburg to the rebel capital. This plan, so well conceived, 
was promptly carried out. Stoneman and Kilpatrick performed prodi- 
gies of labor, passing nine days within the enemy's lines, running up 
to within two miles of Richmond, and destroying an incalculable 
amount of property. 

In the meantime the entire army of the Potomac, about 80,000 
strong, had concentrated in the rear of the rebel army at Fredericks- 
burg, at a place called Chancellorsville. Here, on the 30th of April, 
General Hooker issued the following jubilant order : 

"It is with heartfelt satisfaction that the general commanding an- 
nounces to the army that the operations of the last three days have 
determined that our enemy must ingloriously fly, or come out from 
behind their defences, and give us battle on our own ground, where 
certain destruction awaits him." 

Events did not justify this sanguine view of the case. On the even- 
ing of Saturday, the 2d of May, the rebel division under Stonewall 
Jackson attacked Hooker's right wing, or the Eleventh Corps, under 
General Howard, which was posted in the Wilderness, and drove it 
back in confusion upon the centre at Chancellorsville. It was a dear 
victory, however, for the rebels, for during the fight Jackson fell mor- 
tally wounded. He was their ablest and most trusted general, and 
carried even into a bad cause that high-toned and chivalric disposition 
that enforces the respect of mankind. 

Early on the following morning (strange it is that so many of the 
great battles of the world should have been fought on Sunday I) the 
rebel generals Hill and Trimble advanced upon General Hooker's 



722 



ADMIXISTRATION OF LESTCOLN. 



centre, and after six hours of desperate fighting, gained the plank road 

leading from Chancellorsville to Fredericksburg, and pressed Hooker 
still farther back. The same morning General Sedgwick, who had 
been left on the opposite side of the river, at Falmouth, with 20,000 
men, crossed over and attacked the enemy in their entrenchments 
on Fredericksburg heights, and gallantly drove them out of their 
works. 

On Monday morning the entire rebel army was thus massed between 
Sedgwick and Hooker, when they suddenly turned upon Sedgwick and 
routed him, driving him over the ground which he had taken the day 
before, and compelling him to recross the river during the night. 
Hooker being now exposed to an attack from the entire rebel army, 
and a heavy rain storm setting in which threatened to make the river 
impassable, at once gave orders on Tuesday morning to recross the 
river. This was done in good order during the day. The losses in 
this disastrous affair amounted to about 18,000 on each side. 

In Charleston Harbor on the 7th of April, a powerful demonstration 
was made upon Fort Sumter by a fleet of nine iron-clads, under Ad- 
miral Dupont. It was wholly unsuccessful, and resulted in the loss of 
the Monitor Keokuk and the serious injury of several others. 

The attention of the country was now turned to the Mississippi, 
where General Grant, with characteristic tenacity was enveloping the 
strongholds of the enemy with his immense army, drying up their 
sources of supplies, and gradually tightening the cords which were 
finally to bind them and lay them helpless at his feet. 

General Banks proceeded up the west bant of the river, through the 
Bayou Teche region, and took possession of that part of the State from 
which the garrison at Port Hudson drew their supplies. He also 
destroyed a number of rebel transports and gunboats which had been 
run up the bayous for safety. 

On the l7th of April, General Grierson, with only 542 splendidly 
mounted cavalry men, started from Lagrange, Tennessee, and made a 
dash through the interior of Mississippi, reaching Baton Rouge on the 
2d of May. He destroyed an immense amount of property, as well as 
growing crops, depots of supplies, etc. 

General Grant marched upon Port Gibson, below Vicksburg, and 
captured that place after a severe action, on the 1st of May. This vic- 
tory rendered Grand Gulf untenable, and that stronghold which had, 
three days before, sucessfully resisted an attack from the mortar fleet 
of Admiral Porter, was abandoned. Turning to the north, General 



ADMIXISTKATION OF LINCOLN. 



723 



Grant encountered the army of General Joseph E. Johnston, on the 
14th of May, at Raymond, near Jackson, defeated him and entered 
Jackson, the capital of the State. He then turned directly upon the 
rear of Vicksburg, where he was met on the 16th by General Pember- 
ton, the commander at Vicksburg, who had marched out of his de- 
fences for the purpose of checking him. Pemberton was defeated and 
driven back to Vicksburg. When Giant was within ten miles of the 
city, he was again attacked by Pemberton, who was again defeated. 
Grant now closely invested the city, and commenced to rain upon it a 
constant shower of shot and shell, both from the land side and from the 
fleet. On the north, south, and west, all communication with the city 
had been cut off, and the surrender of the place was only a question 
of time. General Johnston was too badly cut up by the battle of the 
14th to attempt to raise the siege by attacking Grant in the rear, or 
to impede him in running his parallels nearer and nearer the city. 
The inhabitants protected themselves from the iron shower that 
poured upon their devoted city, by building caves in the ground, 
where thousands of them passed many weary days and nights. Finally, 
on the 3d of July, as General Grant was prepared for an assault upon 
the city. General Pemberton sent out to him a flag of truce and de- 
sired an interview. Beneath the shadow of a tree which has become 
historic, the two generals met, and after a courteous greeting. General 
Pemberton said — 

" General Grant, I meet you in order to arrange terms for the capitu- 
lation of the city of Vicksburg, and its garrison. What terms do you 
demand ?" 

" Unconditional surrender^"^ replied Grant. 

"Unconditional surrender! Never," said Pemberton, "so Ions: as 
I have a man left me. T will fiorht rather." 

"Then, sir," said Grant, "you can continue the defence. My army 
has never been in a better condition to prosecute the siege." 

After further conversation, General Grant explained the terms on 
which he would accept the surrender, which were liberal, and an 
armistice was agreed upon till the next morning. When the morning 
came — the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — General 
Pemberton surrendered the city, and turned over his half-starved gar- 
rison of about 30,000 men as prisoners of war. Grant's losses during 
the campaign were about 8,500, in killed and wounded. 

In the meantime, General Banks had closely invested Port Hudson, 
Fnd on the 27th of May made a desperate but unsuccessful assault 



724 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



upon that place. Again on the 14th of Jane the assault was repeated, 
with a like result. When Vicksburg fell, Port Hudson at once was 
given up (July 8th), with its garrison of 7,000 men. 

The Mississippi River was now open from its mouth to its source, 
and by the retreat of General Bragg from Tullaboma, under the 
menace of General Ptosecrans, the whole of Tennessee was cleared of 
rebel troops. 

The arrest of Clement L. Yallandighara, an ex-member of Congress, 
and a prominent politician, caused great excitement. The arrest was 
made in the night of the 5th of May, at his house in Dayton, Ohio, by 
a company of soldiers sent up from Cincinnati by General Burnside. 
lie was taken to Cincinnati, tried by a military commission, and found 
guilty of uttering seditious language, and sentenced to be confined in 
some fortress of the United States during the continnance of the war. 
General Burnside approved the sentence, and ordered him to be sent 
to Fort Warren, in Boston Harbgr. The President, however, changed 
the sentence, by ordering him sent to the Confederate States, to 
remain during the war, under penalty of imprisonment. This sen- 
tence was carried out, but Mr. Yallandigham passed through the 
South, sailed in a blockade runner to Bermuda, and from thence to 
Halifax, from which place he proceeded to Windsor, Canada, opposite 
Detroit, where his family soon joined him, and where he remained for 
about a year, when he returned unmolested to his home. The par- 
ticular language charged upon Mr. Yallandigham was this, used in a 
public speech at Mount Yernon, Ohio : "The war is a wicked, cruel, 
and unnecessary war; a war not being waged for the preservation of 
the Union ; a war for the purpose of crushing out liberty and erecting 
a despotism ; a war for the freedom of the blacks and the enslavement 
of the whites ;" characterizing an order of General Burnside, prohibit- 
ing such language, as " a base usurpation of arbitrary authority," and 
saying to his hearers that " the sooner the people inform the minions 
of usurped power that they will not submit to such restrictions upon 
their liberties, the better." 

Public meetings were held in various parts of the country, to pro- 
test against the abridgment of the freedom of speech in this case, ai;d 
Mr. Yallandighara was nominated by his friends as governor of Ohio ; 
but he was defeated by an immense majority, and a large proportion 
of the people acquiesced in the treatment extended to him. 

Immediately after the battle near Fredericksburg, in May, General 
Lee gathered up the entire strength of the eastern department of the 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



725 



rebel army for a grand invasion of the North. On the 9th of June, 
he broke up his camp at Fredericksburg, and moved northward. He 
sent General Ewell, with 15,000 men, to clear the Shenandoah Valley 
of Union troops. Our advanced position in that valley was at Win- 
chester, where General Milroy was stationed with 7,000 men. Ewell 
attacked him on the 1.3tb, and after a great battle, drove him in full 
retreat for Harper's Ferry, capturing a large portion of his command. 

On the 14th, the advanced guard of Lee's army crossed the Potomac 
and advanced upon Hagerstown. 

Meanwhile General Hooker proceeded northward, keeping between 
Lee's army and Washington. On the 27th Hooker was ordered to 
turn over his command to General George G. Meade, of Pennsylvania. 
At this time the entire rebel army had crossed the Potomac, and had 
extended themselves through the border counties of Maryland and 
Pennsylvania. The President, in alarm, on the 15th, had called for 
100,000 men from Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, 
and Maryland, all of whom were promptly furnished. 

The rebels advanced to Chambersburg, Shippensburg, and Carlisle, 
while their cavalrv was encra^ed in Maryland, in cutting; railroads and 
captui'ing trains and supplies intended for the army of General Meade. 
At Hanovei', Pennsylvania, on the 30th, Stuart's rebel cavalry attacked 
a portion of Meade's army, and were repulsed. Carlisle was attacked 
and occupied. Both armies now turned towards Gettysburgh, a small 
town 114 miles west of Philadelphia, and 75 north of Washington. 
Here, on the 1st, 2d, and 3d of July, was fought a great battle be- 
tween the entire army of General Lee and the army of the Potomac. 
On the 1st, the advance of both armies met, and after a severe struggle, 
the advantage was with the rebels at night. Among the killed on the 
Union side was General Reynolds. Both armies were now" concen- 
trated, and skirmishing was kept up on the 2d till four o'clock in the 
afternoon, when the enemy commenced an attack in earnest upon 
General Meade's centre on Cemetery Hill, at the same time that the 
rebel generals, Longstreet and Hill, made a determined attack upon 
our left. Our troops at this point gave way, when the timely arrival 
of General Sedgwick checked the rebel advance and drove them back. 
At this juncture the enemy charged with great fury upon our right, 
and were not repulsed until nearly ten at night, when the action 
ceased. 

On the morning of the 3d, heavy cannonading was opened and kept 
up till four in the aftcru.oon. From this hour forth till half-past eight 



726 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



o'clock, occurred by all odds the most sanguinary engagement yet 
chronicled in the annals of the war. The artillery attack made by the 
enemy on the left and centre was rapidly followed by the advance of 
his infantry. The Third corps received the attack with great coolness. 
The rebels made at once for our flank, and kept moving heavy columns 
in that direction. This necessitated support, which was quickly given 
by the Fifth corps. The division of General Barnes being sent to the 
right, and that of General Ayres (regulars) to the left, with General 
Crawford in the reserve. 

The battle now became perfectly fearful. The armies engaged each 
other at very short range, and for three long hours the war of mus- 
ketry was incessant. Such desperate, tenacious fighting as took place 
on this flank has seldom been known in any battle. The enemy would 
often bring up suddenly a heavy column of men, and force our line 
back, only to be in turn forced back by our line of glittering steel. 
Our gallant columns covered themselves with glory over and over 
again. They fought a superior force in numbers. The dispositions of 
the enemy were very rapid, for, look where you would on that field, 
a body of the rebels would be advancing. Our dispositions were 
equally rapid, and the enemy found more than a match in such gallant 
veterans as Sickles, Birney, and Humphreys. At half-past six General 
Sickles was struck in the right leg by a piece of shell, and borne from 
the field. The injury was so great that amputation became necessary, 
and it was performed successfully, the limb being taken off below the 
knee. 

The struggle grew hotter and hotter. The Second corps was called 
on for aid, and though its own position was strongly threatened, yet 
the 1st division, formerly General Hancock's, flung themselves into 
the fight with desperation, and after a long and obstinate conflict, the 
enemy slowly and sullenly gave way. In this last charge the brigade 
of General Caldwell, Second corps, and that of Colonel Switzer, from 
the Fifth corps, won great honors. The rebels made frequent at- 
tempts to capture our artillery, and at one time had Watson's battery 
in their possession, but it was retaken in a furious charge by Birney's 
division. 

The battle lasted till half-past eight o'clock, when the enemy fell 
back to his old position, and left our veterans the ensanguined victors 
of the field. 

General Lee slowly retired upon the Potomac, which had been so 
fewollen by rains that it could not be forded. He remained here till 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



727 



the 14th, in a position which General Meade could not have safely 
attacked, when he retired at his leisure. He entered Maryland with 
90,000 men. He returned with 60,000. The Union loss in the 
battles with him was about 18,000 in killed and wounded. 

A portion of this battle ground was dedicated, with great formality, 
as a National Cemetery, on the 19th of the following November. 
Large lots were laid out for the dead of the different States who fell 
in battle there, and elaborate designs were formed for suitable monu- 
ments. Edward Everett delivered the oration on the occasion, and 
President Lincoln gave the occasion the honor of his presence. Being 
called upon, he delivered the following felicitous address ; 

" Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this 
continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the pro- 
position that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a 
great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived 
and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle- 
field of that war. We are met to dedicate a portion of it as the final 
resting place of those who here gave their lives that that nation might 
live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 

" But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, 
we cannot hallow' this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who 
struggled here, have consecrated it far above our power to add or de- 
tract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say 
here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the 
living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work that they 
have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedi- 
cated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored 
dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they here gave 
the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that 
the dead shall not have died in vain — that the nation shall, under God, 
have a new birth of freedom, and that the government of the people, 
by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." 

On the 10th of July, a severe cavalry engagement took place at 
Hanover, Virginia, between the rebel General Stuart and the Union 
cavalry under General Buford. Stuart was defeated, and left 1,000 
prisoners in General Buford's hands. 

In commemoration of victories so signal and effective. President 
Lincoln ordered a day of national thanksgiving, praise, and prayer to 
be observed on the 6th of August. On the other hand, Jeffers<>n 
Davis ordered a day of fasting and prayer on the 21st of August, ou 



728 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



account of reverses, which in three weeks had swept away nearly one- 
third of his effective force. 

Early in July, the rebel General Morgan made a sudden dash across 
the Ohio River, into Indiana, with 5,000 cavaliy, and passed through 
that State into Ohio. He was pursued, and himself and nearly all his 
command were captured, after they had committed serious depreda- 
tions upon public and private property. 

Preparations having been completed, a vigorous attack was made 
upon Fort Wagner, on Morris Island, in Charleston Harbor, on the 
10th of July. The land forces were under General Gillmore, and 
the naval under Admiral Dahlgren. After eight days of incessant 
bombardment, an assault was ordered on the 18th. . This failed, with 
the loss of 1,000 men. From this time to the 7th of September, siege 
operations upon Forts Wagner and Gregg were continued, when our 
sappers had advanced up to the very moat of Wagner. The forts 
were then both evacuated, and General Gillmore took possession. 

On the 13th of July a fearful riot broke out in the city of New 
York. The mob originated ostensibly in a determination to put a stop 
to the draft for troops which the government had ordered in that city. 
But its main fury was spent upon the inoffensive negroes residing in 
the city. Many of these were savagely murdered in" the streets, their 
houses burned, and finally a colored orphan asylum, where some hun- 
dreds of children were kept, was sacked and burned. The riot spent 
its force in three or four days, and was quelled. A number of the 
ringleaders were arrested and summarily punished. 

Taking advantage of our internal dissensions, the governments of 
England, France, and Spain had invaded Mexico, under the pretext of 
securing indemnity for the indebtedness of that government to their 
subjects, and to secure the fulfilment of treaty stipulations which they 
had together. The head of the alliance was France. The Mexicans 
were repulsed wherever they made resistance, and after their capital 
was taken they submitted to the establishment of an Empire, and to 
have the farce of an election for Emperor. They elected the Arch- 
duke Maximilian, brother of the Emperor of Austria, who was duly 
proclaimed Emperor Maximilian I. This puppet of the French Em- 
peror assumed the Mexican crown, and has since maintained his 
authority by means of French bayonets. 

The cabinets of Europe, however, had sense enough not to recog- 
nize the independence of the Southern Confederacy — an act which was 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



12^ 



persistently urged upon them by rebel envoys, and by not a few of 
the statesmen of Europe. 

After the capture of Vicksburg, immediate steps were taken to expel 
the rebels from Eastern and Middle Tennessee and Northern Georgia. 
On the 21st of August, General Rosecrans, having advanced upon 
Chattanooga, opened fire upon that place. This was kept up for nearly 
three weeks, as a mere feint, during which time his main force was 
making a wide detour to the rear of Chattanooga. General Bragg 
did not suspect this scheme, until on the 1th. of September he dis- 
covered that the Union army had flanked him. He at once aban- 
doned the place, and fell back upon Lafayette, some twenty-five miles 
south. On the 9th, General Rosecrans took quiet possession of Chat- 
tanooga, and then set out in pursuit of Bragg. Reaching the Chica- 
mauga, a small stream which runs north and enters the Tennessee, he 
encamped, about ten miles from Chattanooga. Here, on the 19th of 
September, he was turned upon by Bragg, and attacked with great 
fury. The fight was opened by the rebel General Longstreet, who 
attacked General Thomas who commanded the left wing. Bragg was 
repulsed. A simultaneous attack upon our right and centre was suc- 
cessful, Crittenden and McCook commanding them being forced back. 
The next day the rebels fell again upon Crittenden and McCook, and 
drove them in confusion upon Chattanooga. General Rosecrans was 
himself in this division of the army, and was driven away with them. 
Bragg then turned with his victorious army upon General Thomas. 
Abandoned by the general in command, flanked by an army that out- 
numbered him two to one, he still resolved to hold his ground. And 
he did hold it, against dreadful odds. Three times was the whole 
power of the rebel army thrown upon him, and three times were they 
repulsed. Night separated the combatants, and gave Thomas an 
opportunity to withdraw his army to Chattanooga. The loss on each 
side in this great battle was about 13,000. 

In the meantime General Burnside had taken possession of Knox- 
ville, from which place he proceeded to Cumberland Gap, where he 
attacked the rebel garrison and took 2,000 prisoners. 

General Grant was put in supreme command of the Western Depart- 
ment on the 18th of October, and General Thomas, who so gallantly 
saved the array at Chicamauga, superseded General Rosecrans. 

The condition of the army of the Cumberland, under Thomas, was 
precarious. The rebels held possession of Lookout Mountain and 
Mission Ridge, points which commanded the river and railroad com- 



730 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



munication with Nashville and Louisville. The army at Chattanooga 
was not half supplied with rations and clothing, and so desperate did 
the situation seem to the rebel generals, that on the 21st of November, 
General Bragg sent this message to General Grant : " Humanity would 
dictate the removal of all non-combatants from Chattanooga, as I am 
about to shell the city." General Grant made no reply. At this time 
General Bragg had sent Longstreet, his ablest officer, with 20,000 
men, to attack Burnside at Knoxville. Burnside had his instructions 
to fall back, and draw Longstreet as far away as possible. This he 
did. General Grant then sent a force to destroy the railroads and 
prevent Longstreet's return. This movement was made by General 
Sherman. 

On the 23d General Grant ordered General Sherman to make a 
demohstration upon Missionary Ridge. The enemy, posted on an 
elevation of five hundred feet, watched the approach of Sherman, but 
did not believe he was serious in attempting to attack them. At three 
o'clock in the afternoon he had taken Orchard Knob, and held such a 
position that the next day he compelled the enemy to evacuate a por- 
tion of the mountain, where he intrenched himself. Hooker, on the 
same day, scaled the slopes of Lookout Mountain, drove out the enemy, 
captured 2,000 prisoners, and established himself in full view of Chat- 
tanooga. This battle is called " The Battle of the Clouds," for the day 
had been misty and rainy, and much of the battle was fought above 
the clouds which hid the combatants from the view of those below, 
A clear sky prevailed the following morning, and the Stars and Stripes 
were seen floating from the peak of the mountain. All that day the 
cannonade was continued from Orchard Knob against Missionary 
Ridge, right over the camp where Grant and Thomas stood, watching 
the result of the fight. At last Sherman made an assault on Bragg's 
right. The point was gained and held for a while, but the enemy 
rallied and drove him back. Again our whole line was pushed for- 
ward, and the heights were carried. Bragg was soon in full retreat. 
This was the only answer General Grant gave to his threat to shell 
the city of Chattanooga. 

But Bragg was not suffered to get off easily. Generals Hooker, 
Sherman, and Palmer were ordered to pursue him, and, if possible, 
destroy him. They faithfully executed their orders. Bragg's broken 
and shattered columns found no rest till they were sheltered in Dalton. 
Sherman then turned northward, and drove Longstreet out of East 
Tennessee into Virginia. The campaigns of Vicksburg and Chatta- 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



.731 



nooga were thus closed. Up to this time Grant's particular commands 
had captured 90,000 prisoners, 472 cannons, and more than 100,000 
small arms. 

After all this General Grant thought himself justified in issuing the 
following congratulatory order to his army : 

Headquarters, Military Division of the Mississippi, 
In the Field, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 

Decerriber 10, 1863. 

General Orders^ No. 9. 

The general commanding takes this opportunity of returning his 
sincere thanks and congratulations to the brave armies of the Cum- 
berland, the Ohio, the Tennessee, and their comrades from the Poto- 
mac, for the recent splendid and decisive successes achieved over the 
enemy. In a short time you have recovered from him the control of 
the Tennessee River, fnjm Bridgeport to Knoxville. You dislodged 
him from his great stronghold upon Lookout Mountain ; drove him 
from Chattanooga Valley ; wrested from his determined grasp the 
possession of Missionary Ridge ; repelled, with heavy loss to him, his 
repeated assaults upon Knoxville, forcing him to raise the siege there, 
driving him at all points, utterly routed and discomfited, beyond the 
limits of the State. By your noble heroism and determined courage, 
you have most effectually defeated the plans of the enemy for regain- 
ing possession of the States of Kentucky and Tennessee. You have 
secured positions from which no rebellious power can drive or dislodge 
you. For all this, the general commanding thanks you, collectively 
and individually. The loyal people of the United States thank and 
bless you. Their hopes and prayers for your success against this un- 
holy rebellion are with yon, daily. Their faith in you will not be in 
vain. Their hopes will not be blasted. Their prayers to Almighty 
God will be answered. You will yet go to other fields of strife ; and 
with the invincible bravery and unflinching loyalty to justice and right 
which have characterized you in the past, you will prove that no 
enemy can withstand you, and that no defences, however formidable, 
can check' your onward march. 

By order of Maj.-Gen. U. S. GRANT. 

While these events were occurring in the West, the armies in Vir- 
ginia were not idle. In October, General Lee made a sudden move- 



732 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



ment northward, and interposed General Ewell's division between 
General Meade and the city of Washington. Both armies were soon 
brought face to face upon the twice-fought field of Bull Run, and a 
general engagement was expected. But with the exception of a sharp 
encounter near Centreville, between the rebel General Hill and Gen- 
eral Warren's corps, no action took place. The rebels contented 
themselves with destroying the railroads and bridges which would 
have aided General Meade in an advance upon Richmond, and both 
armies were soon in their old position on each side of the Rapidan. 

On the 7th of November General Meade again crossed the Rappa- 
hannock, near Fredericksburg, with two divisions under Sedgwick and 
French. Near Rappahannock Station Sedgwick surprised and cap- 
tured about 2,000 of the enemy, and French, at the same time, at 
Kelly's Ford, captured a rebel detachment of 400 men. Skirmishing 
was kept up until the 2d of December, on which day the enemy were 
discovered in great force on Mine Run, and General Meade, thinking 
it imprudent to attack them, retraced his steps, and withdrew to his 
old station on the north bank of the Rapidan, where he went into 
•winter quarters. 

The military operations of the year closed with a most daring raid 
by General Averill. With four mounted regiments and a battery, he 
left New Creek, Virginia, on the 8th of December, and made a dash 
through Western Virginia at the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, 
which was the chief line of communication between the rebel armies in 
Virginia and Tennessee. On the 16th he struck the road at New 
Salem, and soon destroyed fifteen miles of the road, destroying the 
bridges, depots, culverts, and an immense amount of stores. He 
evaded the force that was sent after him, and retreated in good order, 
with the loss in killed, wounded, and missing, of 100 men. 

The thirty -eighth Congress commenced its session on the 7th of 
December. Both branches were very strongly in favor of the war policy 
of the President, and ready to sustain him with all the resources of 
the country. In his message to Congress the President declared that he 
should sustain all the laws and proclamations respecting slavery which 
had been put forth for the purpose of aiding in the suppression of the 
rebellion. Appended to his message was a proclamation of amnesty 
to all who were in rebellion who would take the following oath : 

"I do solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God, that I will 
henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the constitution of 



ADMINISTRATION OF LmCOLN. 



733 



the United States, and the Union of the States thereunder; and that 
I will in like manner abide by and faithfully support all acts of Con- 
gress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so 
long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by Congress, or 
by decision of the Supreme Court ; and that I will in hke manner 
abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President, 
made during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long 
and so far as not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme 
Court. So help me God." 

Several classes of persons at the South were excepted from the 
benefit of this proclamation — those who had made themselves promi- 
nent in the civil or military departments of the confederacy. 

A brief abstract of the reports from the heads of the departments 
will show the vast scale upon which the war wps being conducted. 

The Secretary of War, for obvious reasons, gave no information in 
regard to the number of men in the field, but in regard to the employ- 
ment of free negroes, said : " Immediately after the issuing of the Presi- 
dent's proclamation, diligent efi'orts were commenced, and have been 
continued until the present time, for raising colored troops. The 
adjutant-general was sent to the Mississippi to organize the slaves 
there. Fifty thousand colored troops are now organized, and the num- 
ber will rapidly increase as our armies advance. The freed slaves 
make good soldiers, are easily disciplined, and are full of courage. 
The slave has proved his manhood and capacity, and makes a good 
infantry, artillery, or cavalry soldier, as has been evidenced on several 
occasions. The colored troops have been allowed no bounty, and 
under the construction given by the department, they can only by the 
existing law receive $10 per month for their services, while white sol- 
diers receive $13, clothing, and daily rations." 

The Secretary of the Navy reports that he has maintained an un- 
exampled blockade of 3,549 miles of sea coast, including the guarding 
of 189 harbors, river openings, and inlets. In addition, there are over 
a hundred gunboats patroling the Mississippi and its tributaries, which 
figure up 3,615 miles that need watching. 

The increase of the naval force during the past year has again been 
very considerable. At the commencement of the administration it 
consisted of 76 vessels, and of these only 42 were in commission. In 
December, 1862, the number of vessels was 427 ; during the current 
year it was increased to 588. 



734 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



The following is a general exhibit of the navy. 

Iron-clad steamers, coast service . 
Iron-clad steamers, inland service 

Side- wheel steamers 

Screw steamers 

Sailing vessels 

Total 588 4,443 497,667 

The number of vessels captured by the squadrons and reported to 
the department on the 1st of November is 1,045, classified as follows : 
schooners, 547 ; steamers, 179 ; sloops, 131; brigs, 30 ; barks, 26 ; 
ships, 15 ; yachts and small boats, 117. This is exclusive of a large 
number destroyed on the Mississippi and other rivers, and on the 
coast. 

The Secretary of the Treasury gives the following as the receipts 
and expenditures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1863. 



From Customs $69,059,642 40 

From Lands 167,617 17 

From Miscellaneous 3,046,615 35 

From Direct Tax 1,485,103 61 

From Internal Revenue 37,640,787 95 

Balance from last year 13,043,546 81 



Total receipts from all ordinary resources $124,443,313 29 

The disbursements were as follows : 

The Civil Service $23,253,922 08 

Pensions and Indians 4,216,520 79 

War Department 599,298,600 83 

Navy Department 63,210,105 27 

Interest on Debt 24,729,846 61 



Total $714,709,995 58 



On the 1st of February, 1864, as an indication of the vigor with 
which the approaching campaign was to be conducted, the President 
ordered a draft of 500,000 men, to serve for three years or during the 
war. The policy of employing negroes in the service was now fully 
approved, after a fair trial, and under the laws, white men liable to 
the draft could enlist as substitutes the liberated negroes of the South. 



No. of No of Tonnage. 

Vessels. Guns. i^uuogc. 

46 150 62,518 

29 152 20,784 

203 1,240 126,517 

198 1,578 187,892 

112 1,323 70,256 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



735 



On the 5tli of February, a detachment of three brigades, under 
General Seymour, left Port Royal for Jacksonville, Florida. On the 
20th, after a successful march into the interior, and the destruction of 
a large amount of supplies and war material, the enemy were met in 
force at Olustee, when a severe engagement ensued, which ended in 
a complete rout of the Union forces, with the loss of about 1,000 men 
and a number of guns. 

On the 28th of the same month. General Kilpatrick crossed the 
Rapidan with a heavy cavalry force, and passing to the rear of Lee's 
army unobserved, pushed directly for Richmond. He reached a point 
within three miles of that city, and destroyed a large number of mills, 
besides doing incalculable damage to railroads and canals. He re- 
turned by way of the Peninsula, and reached Williamsburg safely on 
the 3d of March. In this expedition. Colonel Dahlgren, a son of the 
naval hero of tbat name, was killed. 

On the 12th of March, the President assigned to General IJ. S. 
Grant the command of the armies of the United States, and at the 
same time assigned to General Sherman the military department of 
the Mississippi, which Grant had vacated, and to General McPherson 
the department of the Tennessee. He then called for an additional 
force of 200,000 men. 

The appointment of General Grant was received with acclamation 
by the country. His brilh'ant campaigns in the West had displayed 
such eminent abilities, that Congress had conferred upon him the rank 
of Lieutenant-General — an honor never before conferred upon any 
man in this country except George Washington. 

General Grant immediately proceeded to Washington, and com- 
menced preparations to crush the grand army of General Lee, which 
had, for nearly three years, resisted successfully the shock of the Union 
armies. He at once organized an immense force, consisting of the 
army of the Potomac, under General Meade, consisting of three corps 
of infantry, numbering nearly 150,000 men, under Hancock, Warren, 
and Sedgwick; a cavalry corps under General Sheridan ; and a reserve 
corps of about 40,000 men, under General Burnside. The army of the 
James, under Generals Butler and Gillmore ; and the army of the 
Shenandoah, under Generals Sigel and Emory, were stationed for co- 
operation with the main army. 

Turning from the army of the Potomac to the country west of the 
Mississippi, we find General Smith, early in March, proceeding up the 
Red River, accompanied by a mortar fleet under Admiral Porter. On 



736 



ADMINTSTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



the 13th of March they captured Fort de Riissey, a strong fortification 
seventy miles from the mouth of the river. Reaching Alexandria, 
that town immediately surrendered. The fi'uits of the expedition thus 
far had been the capture of an immense amount of cotton, which was 
sent down the river to New Orleans. General Banks had now united 
his force with that of General Smith, and together, about thirty miles 
above Alexandria, they met the rebel army under General Dick Tay- 
lor, and routed them ; but following up their successes, they were 
attacked by Taylor's reinforced army, at Pleasant Hill, and after a san- 
guinary engagement, were routed and driven, with heavy loss, in con- 
fusion down the river. This was the disastrous Red River expedition, 
A strong auxiliary force under General Steele had set out fi*om Little 
Rock, Arkansas, to join General Banks at Shreveport, but learning the 
fate of the main army, they attempted to return, and were only able 
to do so after being seriously harassed by the enemy, and losing some 
2,000 men, a number of guns, and a large train of wagons. 

On the 12th of April, the rebel General Forrest attacked Fort Pil- 
low, about seventy miles above Memphis. Overpowered by numbers, 
Major Bo©th, who was in command, surrendered. An immediate and 
indiscriminate massacre of the garrison followed. Out of the 600 in 
the fort, only 200 escaped. The larger portion of the garrison were 
negro soldiers, and it was against them that the special malice of the 
rebel soldiery was aimed. 

On the I7th of April, the rebels attacked Plymouth, North Carolina, 
which place was occupied by our forces under General Wessels. By 
the aid of gunboats and an iron-clad ram, they compelled General 
Wessels to abandon Plymouth and retire to Fort Williams. This place 
they carried by storm, capturing the entire garrison. 

On the morning of the 3d of May, the army of the Potomac broke 
camp on the north bank of the Rapidan, near Culpepper Court House, 
and on that and the following day crossed the river. The Second 
corps, under Hancock, crossed at Ely's Ford, and the Fifth and Sixth 
corps, under Warren and Sedgwick, crossed at Germania Ford, farther 
up the river. General Burnside followed up, and held his corps as a 
reserve on the north bank of the river. 

General Lee was strongly entrenched at Mine Run, and seeing that 
General Grant's design was to flank his right, at once endeavored to 
resist his progress. The country into which General Grant's army had 
plunged, on crossing the river, consisted of the dense forest, called the 
*' Wilderness," which was wholly unfit for the service of cavalry or 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



737 



artillery. Whilst struggling for a position in this forest, Sedgwick's 
corps was violently attacked by Longstreet on the 5th. The attack 
was successfully resisted. Longstreet withdrew for a time, and re- 
turned to the fight with renewed vigor. He was again repulsed, and 
withdrew. At the same time a desperate attack was made upon 
Warren's corps, which was in like manner repulsed. Burnside's 
reserves had been ordered up, and were of great service in checking 
the enemy's advance. 

On the morning of the 6th the engagement became general all 
along the lines. So desperate was the fighting that the interval 
between the opposing lines was, in some places, lost and gained by 
turns five or six times. At noon Longstreet and Hill made a furious 
attack upon the left and centre, and gained an advantage, which they 
soon lost. Towards dark a sudden attack was made upon the right, 
under Generals Seymour and Shaler, which resulted in the cap- 
ture of these two. generals, and the complete overthrow of this wing 
of the army. Grant's whole army was now in peril, and might have 
been lost, but for the stubborn resistance of General Sedgwick, who 
rallied his troops and held the enemy in check at a vital point until 
darkness closed the scene. During the night the enemy retired. 
The losses in Grant's army during these two terrible days was about 
15,000. Lee's loss was not less than this. Among the killed in 
Grant's army were Generals Wadsworth, Hayes, and Webb. Lee lost 
in killed Generals Jones, Jenkins, and Pickett. Longstreet, Pegram, 
and Hunter were severely wounded. 

Lee fell back to Spottsylvania Court House, and Grant changed his 
base of supplies to Fredericksburg. 

On Saturday, the Vth, sharp skirmishing was kept up, but no 
general action took place. On the 8th, Grant's advance towards 
Spottsylvania was checked at a place called Alsop's Farm, w^here a 
severe engagement was had, which resulted in the loss of at least 1,300 
men on a side. On the 9th there was no general battle, but in the 
skirmishing that was kept up the Union army lost one of its chief 
supports by the death of the accomplished and brave General Sedg- 
wick. While superintending the mounting of artillery in what was 
deemed a safe position, he was instantly killed by a ball from a rebel 
sharpshooter, which entered his forehead. 

On Tuesday, the 10th, and the following day, the entire strength of 
both armies was in conflict from early morning till nightfall, but no 
decisive advantage was gained to either side. Early on the morning 



738 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



of the 12th, under cover of a dense fog, the Second corps, under 
General Hancock, made an unexpected attack on the enemy's lines, 
completely surrounded the commands of Generals Edward Johnson 
and G. H. Stewart, and captured them with their generals. General 
Hancock brought off 4,000 prisoners, but was obliged to leave the 
thirty heavy guns which he also took, in consequence of the galling 
fire of the sharpshooters. During this day and the following, the 
battle raged with the most obstinate fury along the whole line, and it 
■was doubtful whether either army had any advantage over the other. 
Both Generals Lee and Meade issued congratulatory orders to their 
armies for srreat successes which ea-^h claimed. For ei^ht davs the 
two great armies had been almost constantly engaged. General Grant 
had lost about 35,000 men, in killed, wounded, and captured, and the 
rebel loss could not have been less. 

The fighting was now suspended till the 18th of May, when Han- 
cock and Burnside again attacked the enemy, but with no decisive 
result. The following three days were occupied by both armies in 
gaining new positions. Lee occupied a strong position between the 
North and South Anna Rivers, and Grant crossed the Pamunkey 
River, established his base of supplies at the White Llouse, and 
fixed his headquarters on the ground occupied by McClellan two years 
before. 

Both armies were now within fifteen miles of the city of Richmond^ 
and Grant determined to make one more attempt to enter the city. 
On the 1st of June he took a strong position near Cold Harbor, and 
on the 3d, after one of the most desperate battles of the war, gained 
possession of that place. He then assaulted the enemy's works 
beyond — the last barrier that lay between him and Richmond — but 
after a protracted and bloody contest, failed to carry their works, and 
with this failure ended the struggle to enter Richmond from the Xorth. 
General Grant at once made preparations to cross the James River 
and attack Richmond from the South. So rapidly was this accom- 
plished that by the 15th of June the entire army had crossed the 
river, and was encamped before Petersburg. 

Turning to the alley of the Shenandoah, we find a strong move- 
ment there, having for its object the capture of Lynchburg, which was 
the depot of supplies for Lee's army at Richmond. On the 4th of 
May General Sigel marched upon Staunton, and General Averill upon 
"Wytheville, designing to capture those places, and then to unite with 
General Crook at Dublin depot, and march upon Lynchburg. Neither 



ADmNISTRATlON OF LINCOLN. 



739 



General Averill nor General Crook were able to carry out their plans, 
and on the 13th, General Sigel, with the main body of the army of 
the Shenandoah, was attacked by the rebel General Breckinridge and 
defeated, and driven back in great confusion to Strasburg. Sigel was 
at once removed, and his command given up to General Hunter. C n 
the 5th of June, Hunter fought the rebel General Jones at Staunton, 
killed him, and took 1,500 prisoners. After the capture of Staunton, 
he joined Crook, Averill, and Sullivan, and marched upon Lynchburg, 
which place he invested, destroying all the railroads leading to it 
within his reach. On the 18th, the united commands were attacked 
with such force by General Early, that General flunter was forced to 
retreat. His line of retreat up the Shenandoah was cut off, and he 
was obliged to cross the mountains into Western Virginia. He 
reached Gauley on the 28th, after a toilsome march, in which his men 
suffered not only the fatigue of cutting their way through the forests, 
but the deprivations of hunger. 

Believed of Hunter, General Early, with a force of 22,000 men, 
marched rapidly up the Shenandoah Valley, and crossed the Potomac 
above Harper's Ferry. General Sigel, who was at Martinsburg, fell 
back to Sharpsburg, July 3, for the better protection of his commissary 
stores. Early marched upon Hagerstown, and took possession of that 
place. Pressing down towards Baltimore, he was met on the 9th of 
July by General Lewis Wallace, at Monocacy, where a severe engage- 
ment was had, but without checking the enemy's advance. The next 
day Early took possession of Fredericktown. From this time for four 
days, the rebel raiders were engaged in gathering plunder from the 
defenceless people of Maryland, passing down at one time to within 
six miles of the city of Washington, cutting the railroad and tele- 
graphic communication from the North, and filling the country with 
apprehensions for the safety of the capital itself. But the storrr 
gathering around him admonished Early that he must retire. On the 
13th he recrossed the Potomac, with an immense amount of booty, 
!ind safely made his way back to Richmond, after a two days' fight 
Aear Winchester, in which the Union Colonel Mulligan was killed. 
While at Martinsburgh, Early sent General McCausland, with a 
javalry force, to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, which place he entered 
on the 30th, and destroyed. Twenty-five hundred people were made 
homeless, and property of the value of $4,000,000 was destroyed. 

When General Grant crossed the Rapidan with the main body of 
iiis armv. an important cooperative movement was made by General 



HO 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



Butler from Fortress Monroe. With a large force he ascended the 
James River, and landed at City Point, on the 5th of May, and at 
once entrenched himself at Bermuda Hundred. He then sent a 
cavalry force under General Kautz to destroy the railroad communica- 
tions south of Petersburg. This expedition succeeded in seriously 
damaging the enemy, and safely returned. General Butler then 
moved upon Fort Darling, a strong fortress which commanded the ap- 
proach to Richmond by way of James River. This place he was pre- 
paring to invest, when the enemy made a sortie from the fort on the 
16th, attacked Butler, and drove him back into his entrenchments. 
On the 19th, General Kautz made another great raid around Petersburg, 
cutting the Richmond and Petersburg and Danville railroads, and 
destroying a large amount of rebel property. 

The time was now approaching when the people of the loyal States 
would be called upon to pass judgment upon the administration of 
Abraham Lincoln, as his constitutional term of office was expiring. 
On the 31st of May a convention met at Cleveland, Ohio, and nomi- 
inated for President, John C. Fremont, and for Vice-President, John 
Cochrane, of New York. Finding no response from the people, this 
nomination was soon after declined by the candidates. 

On the 7th of June the friends of the administration met in conven- 
tion at Baltimore, and with entire unanimity re-nominated Mr. Lincoln 
for President, and Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, for Vice-President. 
The convention resolved as follows : 

1. The rebellion must be suppressed by force of arms. 2. The rebels 
must not be compromised with upon any terms short of unconditional 
surrender. 3. In favor of an amendment to the constitution forever 
prohibiting slavery in the United States. 4. That the gratitude of 
the American people is due the soldiers and sailors of the army and 
navy. 5. A full endorsement of President Lincoln for all the 
measures he had adopted to suppress the rebellion. 6. In favor of 
harmony in the President's cabinet. 7. In favor of securing full protec- 
tion to the colored soldiers of the army. 8. In favor of fostering and 
encouraging foreign immigration. 9. In favor of the Pacific railroad. 

10. In favor of adopting effective measures to pay the national debt. 

11. A protest against the establishment of foreign influence on this 
continent. 

The opposition to the administration called their convention to meet 
at Chicago on the 4th of July, but afterwards postponed the same to the 
29th of August. At that time the convention met, and nominated 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



741 



George B. McClellan for President, and George H. Pendleton, of Ohio, 
for Vice-President. The convention resolved : 

1. Adherence to the Union, under the Constitution. 2. That after 
four years of failure to restore the Union by the experiment of war, 
efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities, with a view to an ultimate 
convention of the States, or other peaceable means, to the end that, 
at the earliest practicable moment, peace may be restored, on the basis 
of the federal Union of the States. 3. Protesting against military 
interference in elections, and threatening resistance if it is repeated. 
4. In favor of freedom of speech and of the press, and protesting 
against arbitrary arrests and military trials in States not in insurrec- 
tion. 5. In favor of prompt measures for the relief of Union prisoners 
of war at the South. 6. Pledging care, protection, regard, and 
kindness to the soldiers of the array, " in the event of our attaining 
power." 

The canvass that followed these conventions was remarkably excit- 
ing, but the following table shows how overwhelmingly the people 
sustained the administration of Lincoln when the day of trial came, 
on Tuesday, the 8th of November : 



STATES. 



California 

Connecticut . . . 

Delaware 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts . 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Missouri 

Nevada 

New Hampshire 
New Jersey. . . 
New York .... 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania. . 
Rhode Island . . 

Vermont 

West Virginia. 
Wisconsin 

Total 



POPULAR VOTE. 



58,698 
44.G91 
8,115 
189,496 
150,238 
89.075 
1 6,441 
26,592 
61.803 
40.153 
120,742 
85.352 
2 ,060 
71,676 
9.826 
36,400 
60,723 
368,735 
264,975 
9,888. 
296^391 
13,692 
42,419 
23,152 
83.458 



2,203,831 



MC CLELLAN. 



4'2,255 
42.285 
8,767 
158,730 
130,233 
49,596 
3,691 
61,478 
44,211 
32,739 
48,745 
67,370 
17,375 
31,626 
6,594 
32,871 
68,024 
361,986 
205,557 
8,457 
276,316 
8,470 
13,321 
10,438 
65,884 



1,797,019 



ELECTORAL VOTE. 



.INCOLN. .MC CLELLAN. 



7 
7 

12 
8 
4 

11 
3 
5 

33 
21 
3 
26 
4 
5 
5 



11 



214 



21 



ADMIXISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



On the 19tli of June, the rebel privateer, Alabama, Captain Semmes, 
which had scourged the sea from nearly the opening of the war, was 
engaged in the British Channel, by the Union steamer Kearsargf, 
Captain Winslow, atid in less than an hour was sunk. The vesseli^ 
were every way evenly matched. The fight took phice near the har- 
bor of Cherbourg, on the French coast. The Alabama commenced 
the attack at 11.10 in the morning. At twelve she was in a sinking 
state, and attempted to run into Cherbourg, but Captain Winslow ran 
up within 400 yards of her, and gave her a broadside, which rendered 
her condition hopeless. Semmes then struck his colors, and bis men 
took to their boats or jumped into the sea. An English yacht, the 
Dcerhound, owned by one Mr. Lancaster, was a witness to the com- 
bat, and when the Alabama sunk, ran up and rescued Semmes and his 
officers, and about forty of Ins crew. The Keai'sarge saved sixty, and 
nine were picked up by a French pilot boat. The Deerhound took 
Semmes and his men into Southampton, where they were lionized by 
the people. Captain Winslow took the prisoners he had into Cher- 
bourg, and released them on parole. The Alabama had seven men 
killed and seventeen wounded. The Kearsarge did not lose a m?m. 

We have traced the grand army of the Potomac to the South bank 
of the James River, where it is seated before Petersburg. Turning 
now to the West, we find General Sherman at Chattanooga, with an 
army of 99,000 men, moving towards Atlanta, according to a plan 
agreed upon between himself and General Giant. For corps com- 
manders he l)ad Thomns, McPherson, Schofield, and Hooker. He 
found opposed to him the corps under Hardee, Hood, and Polk, all 
under the general command of General Joseph E. Johnston. On the 
15th of May, Sherman attacked Johnston at Rcsaca, and drove him 
out of that place in a somberly dn-ection. Following him up, he over- 
took him at Adairsville, and af er a sharp engagement, pressed him 
still firther south. Sherman now encanjped at Kingston. On the 
23d of May, he supplied his men with twenty days' rations, broke 
camp, crossed the river Etowah, and entered the dangerous defile 
known as Altoona Pass. On the 24th he met the enemy at Dallas, 
and defeated them. On the 6th of June, he readied Ackworth, six 
miles south of the Pass, where he had the satisfaction of knowing that 
he liad passed through the rono-he<it portion of the mountainous 
recrion, and was within reach of the fertile plains of the centre of the 
State. Johnston confront'^rj him at Kenesaw Mountains, with strong 
posts at Pilot Knob, and Pine, and Lost Mountains. On the 14th of 



ADMINISTRATIO^^■ OP LINCOLN. 



743 



June, in an attack on the rebel line between Kenesaw and Pine 
Mountains, the rebel General Polk was killed. On the 15th, Sherman 
compelled the enemy to evacuate Pine Mountain, and on the 20th he 
drove them from Lost Mountain. On the 27th he made an assault on 
their position on Kenesaw Mountain, and was repulsed with the loss 
of nearly 3,000 men. The enemy, however, evacuated their position 
on the 3d of July, and being successively flanked in the positions they 
removed to, fell back to Atlanta. 

General Hood was now placed in command of the rebel army con- 
fronting General Sherman, and he adopted a new policy. Sherman's 
line was now extended to the length of fourteen miles, resting in the 
form of an arch on the northeast, and within five miles of Atlanta. 
On the 20th of July General Hood sallied from Atlanta, and made a 
desperate charge upon Hooker's corps, but was repulsed with the loss 
of 5,000 men. Hooker lost 1,700. Again on the 22d, he attacked, 
with terrible energy, the left wing under McPherson, and at first suc- 
ceeded in breaking tlie Union lines; but they soon rallied, and checked 
his advance. Six times he hurled his massed columns against the 
Union lines, but was repulsed in every attempt. On this day the 
brave McPherson fell, mortally wounded. His death was a national 
misfortune, but no one felt it so keenly as General Sherman, who 
looked to him as his strongest support. Hood's loss in these assaults 
was about 12,000, and Sherman's less than 2,000. On the 28th Hood 
again massed his forces and attacked Sherman's right wing, com- 
manded by Logan, and was again repulsed with fearful loss. 

The month of August was consumed in breaking up Hood's lines 
of communication. Stoneman, Kilpatrick, and McCook, with strong 
cavalry commands, made desperate havoc in all directions. In one of 
these raids, Stoneman, with nearly his whole command, was captured, 
and McCook was compelled to cut his way out with great loss; but 
the eff'ect upon the enemy was to make Atlanta untenable for them. 
All the attempts of Hood to break the communications of Sherman 
were disastrous failures. He made a determined attack on Dalton, for 
that purpose, but was defeated by General Steadman, and forced to 
retire. Finally, on the nioht of the 1st of September, Hood blew up 
his ammunition trains and evacuated Atlanta, retreating southward. 
The next day Sherman entered the city, and determining to make it a 
strictly military post, ordered all civilians out of it, sending the loyal 
North, and the disloyal South. The grand campaign of Atlanta was 
thus closed, after a conspicuous display, on the part of its great leader. 



744 



ADMINISTEATION OF LINCOLN. 



of all the qualities that go to mate up a perfect master of the art of 
war. 

Immediately on transferring his army to the south bank of the 
James, General Grant commenced operations against Petersburg. This 
place communicates with the South by means of three railroads— Suf- 
folk, Weldon, and Lynchburg. The Suflfolk road was in his posses- 
sion. On the 22d of June, he moved his Second and Sixth corps upon 
the Weldon road. The cavah-y commands of Wilson and Kautz were 
also ordered to break up as much of this and the Lynchburg road as 
possible. These expeditious were eminently successful in destroying 
the railroads, but were severely handled at Reams' Station and other 
points on the two roads, and returned in disorder on the 30th, with 
considerable loss. During all this time a heavy bombardment was 
kept up upon Petersburg. 

General Grant now prepared for a grand assault upon the enemy's 
works. He constructed a mine 400 feet in length, with two galleries, 
which ran to a point just in front of Cemetery Hill, the salient of the 
rebel fortifications. This mine was charged with eight tons of pow- 
der. On the morning of the 30th of July, at forty minutes past four 
o'clock, everything being in readiness, and a strong force having been 
despatched to the north side of the James River to attack the enemy's 
left and divert their attention, the mine was exploded with all the vio- 
lence of an earthquake. A large gap was made by it in the enemy's 
works, and a North Carolina regiment was blown up or buried. At 
once one hundred and fifty heavy guns were opened upon the enemy's 
works. During the previous night the storming party had been 
arranged, consisting of the Ninth corps in the centre, supported by 
the Fifth and Eighteenth corps. When the mine exploded there was 
^ fatal delay of the storming party, and when they did move, the 
enemy's artillery was so trained upon them that they were fairly 
crushed to death in^the awful chasm made by the explosion of the 
mine. They were repulsed with the loss of nearly six thousand men. 

True to his policy of giving the enemy no rest, Genei'al Grant 
attacked them on the 13th of August on the north bank of the James, 
near Deep Bottom, capturing 500 prisoners; and on the 18th made 
another attack upon them at Reams' Station, on the Weldon road, 
and took possession of the road. The fighting at this point continued 
for six days, with great loss on both sides, but resulted in the rebels 
being repulsed. 

Dissatisfied with the management in the Shenandoah Valley, Gen- 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



745 



eral Grant organized it into a new department, and put General Philip 
H. Sheridan in command of it. On the 10th of August General 
Mosby broke Sheridan's communications at Berry ville. On the 21st, 
Sheridan was attacked near Charlestown, and compelled to fall back 
to Halltown. General Sheridan now gathered the full strength of his 
command, and pursued Early, defeating him on the 19th at Opequan 
Creek, and on the 22d at Fisher's Hill, and driving him out of the 
valley. Sheridan now turned his attention to the destruction of every- 
thing in the lower part of the valley which was capable of protecting or 
sustaining the guerrilla forces which had given our armies so much an- 
noyance. By the 7th of October he had fallen back to Woodstock, 
after having rendered desolate everything in his path up to that point. 
Among the property destroyed were two thousand barns, filled witb 
wheat, hay, and farming implements, and seventy mills filled with flour 
and wheat. He also captured four thousand cattle and a large number 
of horses. Fi-om Woodstock, Sheridan fell back to Cedar Creek, beyond 
Strasburg. Here he was attacked by Early, who had followed him up, 
on the 19th of October. At the time of the attack, Sheridan was fifteen 
miles away from his command, and everything threatened disaster to 
bis army. His left flank was turned, and his men all fell back four 
miles, losing twenty-four pieces of artillery. Sheridan arrived on the 
field at noon, re formed his broken columns, infused his own spirit into 
his men, and turning upon Early, defeated and almost annihilated bis 
army. 

A provoking, rather than a serious aff'air, occurred on the 16th of 
September. General Wade Hampton, at the head of a small party of 
rebel cavalry, swept around General Grant's cattle-yard at Harrison's 
Landing, and carried safely off 2,500 head of cattle. 

Fighting was kept up incessantly around Richmond and Petersburg, 
on both sides of the river, and a terrific bombardment of Petersbuig 
never ceased. At Chapin's Farm and on Newmarket Heights, on the 
29tb and 30th of September, severe engagements were had with unim- 
portant advantages to General Grant. On the 7th of October, a des- 
perate attack was made on Terry's division on the Darbytown road, 
which was unsuccessful. Indeed the whole of the month of October 
Wiis passed by both armies near Richmond in determined movements, 
with great loss on both sides, but no apparent advantage to either. It 
was evident, however, that the rebels were losing strength, in conse- 
quence of the destruction of their supplies and the interruption of their 
means of commnni'\'(t'on. 



746 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



After the battle of Cedar Creek, General Sheridan's anny moved 
back to the vicinity of Winchester, and during the winter was mainly 
engaged as an army of observation. Sheridan, iu the meantime, how- 
ever, desolated the Blue Ridge Valley, as he had that of the Shenan- 
doah, to break up the guerrilla marauding. 

On the 7th of October, the rebel privateer Florida was captured in 
the harbor of Bahia, on the coast of Brazil, by the United States 
steamer Wachusett, Captain Collins. At the time of the capture, the 
captain and crew were ashore. She was brought back to Hampton 
Roads by her captors, and while a discussion was going on between 
the Brazilian government and ours, whether Captain Collins did right 
to take the ship in the friendly waters of Brazil, the Florida was run 
into and sunk by an army transport, on the night of the 19th of 
Novembjr. This brought the controversy ab )Ut her to a close. 

In November a most damaging blow was struck at the rebel power 
by General Stoneman, who penetrated southwestern Virginia, and on 
the 20th of that month destroyed the immense salt and lead works at 
Saltville, and broke up a large portion of the East Tennessee and Vir- 
ginia railroad. 

On the 13tli,of December, a fleet of sixty-five vessels of war and 
one hundred transports sailed from Fortress Monroe, bound for Fort 
Fisher, which couimanded Wilmington harbor. The land force on 
board was 7,000 men, and the whole expedition was under command 
of General Butler. Wilmington was the only seaport left the rebels 
on the Atlantic coast, and an immense trade was carried on between 
that port and Bermuda, in spite of the efforts of the blockading squad- 
ron to prevent it. On the 23d the fleet reached the harbor in front 
of the fort, and commenced operations by exploding a powder vessel 
within five hundred yards of the fort. Although this vessel was 
loaded wMth two hundred barrels of powder, and it was supposed would 
blow the fort down and render it untenable, it made no impression 
upon the fortification whatever. A heavy bombardment from the fleet 
followed, and a force of 3,000 men was latided and made an assault 
upon the fort, but the first attack was repulsed, and General Butler 
hurriedly withdrew his forces on the 2Tth, and returned to Fortress 
Monroe. 

Mortified at this failure, which he deemed unnecessary, General 
Grant at once ordered General Butler to turn over his command to 
General Alfred H. Terry, and to report from Lowell, Massachusetts. 
General Teny was ordered back to Fort Fisher. He leached the fort 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 747 

on the 13tli of January, and landed his troops and carried the place 
by assault on the .14ih, capturing one thousand prisoners. General 
Terry's loss was mohtly caused by the explosion of the magazine of the 
fort on the 16th, which was occasioned by a careless soldier, and by 
which 265 men were killed and wounded. 

Early in August a fleet, consisting of fourteen sloops-of-war and four 
iron-clad monitors, under the invincible Farragut, sailed from New 
Orleans for Mobile harbor, to seize the forts at the entrance of that 
harbor, and break it up as a port for blockade-running. The three 
forts, Morgan, Powell, and Gaines, at the entrance of Mobile Bay, 
were very strong works, and considered impregnable by the rebels. 
On the morning of the 4th, the fleet sailed up the channel, and the 
gunboat Tecumseh, Captain Craven, fired the first shot, when she was 
almost immediately seen to careen and sink, carrying her commander 
and all her crew down with her. She had struck one of the torpedoes 
with which the harbor was filled. But the main reliance of the rebels 
was an enormous iron-cl .d ram, the Tennessee, which was considered 
the most powerful war vessel ever constructed. This monster was 
supported by thi-ee formidable gunboats. Such was the power with 
which Farragut's fleet moved, that before nine o'clock in the morning 
the forts were captured and passed, and all the rebel gunboats dis- 
persed or crippled. Then commenced what Farragut himself describes 
as " one of the fiercest naval combats on record." The whole fleet 
attacked the great rebel ram. The attack was made not only with 
their guns, br.t bows on at full speed." Not less than four of the 
latgest vessels of the fleet ran upon the monster full force, doing them- 
selves far more damage than they did the ram, while at the same time 
the smaller vessels swarmed around, and poured volley after volley of 
heavy shot into all parts of it. This contest lasted only two hours, 
when Admiral Buchanan, commanding the Tennessee, struck his 
colois, and the contest was over. No attempt was made to take pos- 
session of Mobile, for the possession of the harbor broke up the trade 
of the city, which was the object of the expedition. During this fight 
Admiral Farragut was lashed into the maintop of his vessel, the better 
to observe the progress of the battle. 

When General Sherman took possession of Atlanta in September, 
he intended to remain there only long enough to recruit his troops, 
and then push forward for Savannah, through the heart of Georgia. 
But he soon found that he must first contest with Geiieral Hood for 
the possession of the railroad to Chattanooga, by which he was 



748 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



receiving his supplies. Hood attacked the road between Resaca 
and Dalton, and took possession of it, but was quickly driven into 
Northern Alabama by General Sherman. Forrest made a demonstra- 
tion upon tbe road between Nashville and Chattanooga, but he, too, 
was soon driven out of the way by General Thomas. General Sher- 
man had now no difficulty in bringing up all needed supplies, and was 
soon in condition for a forward movement He sent to General Thomas 
force enough, so that he knew that brave soldier could take care of 
Tennessee, and then took up the railroad from Atlanta to Chattanooga, 
and sent it back to the latter place, together with all the propeity of 
value at Atlanta. On the 4th of November he sent the President the 
followinor charactei istic telecrram : 

"Hood has crossed the Tennessee. Thomas will take care of hira 
and Nashville, while Schofield will not let hira into Chattanooga or 
Knoxville. Georgia and South Carolina are at my mercy — and 1 shall 
strike. Do not be anxious about me. I am all right." 

On the 15th of November Atlanta was evacuated and de'stroyed, and 
Sherman took up his march to the sea, which was distant by the route 
he proposed to take, 300 miles. His army consisted of 60,000 infantry 
and artillery, and 10,000 cavalry, and moved in two main columns, ex- 
tending nearly sixty miles. Gen. Howard commanded the right wing, 
composed of the F.fteenth and Seventeenth cprps, and General Slocum 
the left, consistmg of the Fourteenth and Twentieth corps, while the 
cavalry, under General Kilpatrick, covered the flanks. The orders to 
march not over fifteen miles a day were strictly enforced. The route 
lay through one of the most fertile regions of the South, and the army 
found no difficulty in subsisting upon the country. The march of the 
army was attended with the destruction of everything in its path. No 
white men were found, but the negroes gathered around the army in 
swarms. On the 20ih the army reached Milledgeville, the capital of 
Georgia, but evervthino" movable of value had been taken awav. On 
the 9th of December, the advance was so near the coast that one of 
Sherman's scouts succeeded in reaching General Foster at Hilton 
Head, and reporting himself. On the 12th the whole array was within 
ten miles of Savannah. On the 13th Sherman stormed Fort McAllis- 
ter, which commanded the approach of Savannah from the sea, and 
captured it, which put the city of Savannah at his feet. On the 20th 
Savannah was evacuated by Hardee, and on the 22d, Sherman took 
possession, and wrote the President as follows : 

"I beg to present to you as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



740 



witli 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 
bales of cotton." 

On the 28th, a meeting of the citizens of Savannah was held, under 
a call from Mayor Arnold, and a resolution was unanimously adopted, 
" to accept peace, submitting to the national authority under the con- 
stitution, laying aside all differences, and burying by-gones in the 
grave of the past." 

When General Sherman left Atlanta for the coast, General Hood 
commenced his movements for the recapture of Tennessee. Hood and 
Beauregard moved up the Tennessee River to Athens, while Thomas 
fell back, concentrating his army at Nashville. At Franklin, eighteen 
miles south of Nashville, General Schofield was posted with a strong 
force. On the 30th of November, Hood's entire army attacked Scho- 
field at this place, with desperate energy, but were repulsed with the 
loss of 6,000 men. Schofield's loss was 2,500. Schofield then fell 
back and joined General Thomas at Nashville. Hood pressed forward 
boldly and laid siege to Nashville, where for two weeks there were no 
movements on either side. Being in readiness on the 15th, Thomas 
assumed the ofi"cnsive, and attacked Hood in his intrenchments. 
Hood was not only defeated, but his army was utterly destroyed.' Six 
days' terrible fighting, ending in the shattered remnants of his army 
being driven across the Tennessee River, with the loss of eighteen 
generals, 17,000 men, and sixty-eight pieces of artillery. A cooper- 
ating force under Forrest attacked Murfreesboro on the 15th, where 
Rousseau was stationed, and was as badly cut up as the main body. 
This ended the war in Tennessee. Hood escaped into Alabama, after 
being still further harrassed by General Grierson's cavalry, and passed 
out of sight. 

The vigorous measures of General Sheridan had cleared the valley 
of the Shenandoah of all hostile troops, and at the opening of the year 
1865, the attention of the country was fixed upon the armies under 
Sherman and Grant. 

Immediately after the capture of Fort Fisher, on the 15th of 
January, General Terry moved up the river to Wilmington, which 
place he took possession of on the 22d of February, after a slight re- 
sistance by the rebel troops. 

At the opening of the year 1865, it will be seen, then, that the 
theatre of military operations had been narrowed down to the country 
between the James and Savannah Rivers, including the south half of 
Virginia and the two Carolinas ; and in this region there were two 



150 



ADMINISTEATION OF LINCOLN. 



rebel armies — one under General Lee of 100,000 men, conimancling 
Ht Richmond, and the other under General Joseph E. Johnston, with 
with 50,000 men, confronting the victorious legions of S'liernian. 
Grant's and Lee's armies were at dead-lock in fioi.t of Peteiisburg 
during the month of January, the monotony being varied o'lly by an 
unsuccessful attempt to open a canal at Dutch Gap, six hundred feet 
long, by which seven miles of river navigation could be saved. This 
project was conceived by General B. F. Butler. 

On the 5th of February General Grant swung his Ijft around at 
Hatcher's Run, and advanced his lines, after a hard struggle, the dis- 
tiince of four miles. This was the only important event of the month. 

A "Peace Conference," so called, was held on the third of February, 
on board the steamer River Queen, at Fortress ^[onroe. The parties 
to the conference on the Lnion side were President Lincoln and 
Secretary Seward ; on the other side. Vice President A. II. Stephens, 
R. M. T. Iluntei", and Judge J. A. Campbell, the representatives of 
Jefferson Davis. This interview was arranged by the veteran politician 
Francis P. Blair, who visited Richmond by Mr. Lincoln's sanction, for 
that purpose. Nothing came of this conference, for Mr. Lincoln de- 
manded, as a preliminary, "First, the restoration of the national 
authority throughout all the States ; second, no receding by the 
executive of the United States on the slavery question from the 
position assumed therein in the late annual message to Congress, and 
in the preceding documents ; third, no cessation of hostilities short of 
an end of the war, and the disbanding of all the forces hostile to the 
government." 

Early in the month of February, General Sherman commenced 
moving northward towards Charleston. On the 11th he reached and 
occupied Branchville, sixty-two miles northwest of Charleston, the 
junction of several railroads by which Charleston was supplied with 
the necessaries of life. On the 18th he entered Columbia, the capital 
of the State. Charleston was thus cut oft" from supplies, and the only 
thing remaining for General Hardee, who commanded at that place, to 
do, was to save as many of his men as possible, and leave the city. 
General Gillmore, who commanded the Union forces in Charleston 
harbor, noticed* on the morning of the 18th that Forts Sumter and 
Moultrie had been evacuated during the preceding night. He at 
once entered and took possession of the city, and once more raised the 
Stars and Stiipes on Fort Sumter. The city was fired by the retreat- 
ing troops in many parts, and before the fire could be extinguished, 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



751 



two-tbii*ds of the business portion was in ashes. The appearance of 
the city as our troops entered it, was in the last degree desolate. 
Business streets were so overgrown with undisturbed vegetation, that 
people walking on opposite sides of tbem were invisible to each other. 
An actual bombardment upon it for the space of 542 days — com- 
mencing August 22, 1863 — had fairlj riddled with shot a large pro- 
portion of the buildings, and many were utterly demolished. Only 
15,000 people, black and white, were found remaining in this once 
proud capital of the South. Order was soon restored in the city, and 
the fleets of steam and sailing vessels arriving and departing signified 
that intercourse with the world was once more resumed. 

General Sherman pressed on to the northward without interruption, 
and on the 3d of March occupied Cheraw, and on the 11th entered 
Fayetteville, North Carolina, and opened communication with Wil- 
mington, by way of Cape Fear River. The only collisions with the 
enemy during his march, were at Aiken, Cheraw, and near Fayette- 
ville, wliere Kilpatrick had a skirmish with Wade Hampton. 

On the 4th of March, President Lincoln w*as inaugurated for a 
second term of office. On this occasion he delivered the following 
address, which, in the light of subsequent events, will be read with 
deep interest while anything connected with his administration is 
remembered among men : 

SECOND IXAUGURAL ADDRESS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN". 

Fellow Countrymen: 

At this second appearing to take the oath of the presidential office, 
there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the Urst. Then a 
statement somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed very fitting and 
proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations 
have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest 
which smU absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, httle 
that is new could be presented. 

The progress of our arras — upon which all else chiefly depends — is as well 
known to the public as to mjself ; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and 
encouraging- to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is 
ventured. 

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously 
directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it ; all sought to avoid it. While 
the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to 
saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city setking to 
destroy it without war — seeking to dissolve the Union and divide the effects by 
negotiation. 



752 



ADMINlSTRATIOxN' OF LINCOLN. 



Both parlies deprecated war ; but one of them would make war rather than let- 

the natiou survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish ; and 

tlje v;-ar came. 

One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed gen- 
erally over the Union, but localized m the southern part of it. These slaves con- 
stituted a pecuhar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was some- 
how the cimie of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest 
was the object for which the msurgenta would rend the Union by war, while 
the government claimed no right to do more than restrict the territorial enlarge- 
ment of it. 

Xeither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has 
already attained. Neither anticipated that tlie cause of the conflict might cease, 
even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked lor an easier triumph and 
a result less fundamental and astounding. 

• Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid 
against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just 
God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but 
let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both should not ba an- 
swered That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own pur- 
poses 'SVoe unto the world because of ofience?, for it must needs be that oflences 
comcj but woe to that rfan by whom the offence cometh. If we shall suppose 
that American slavery is one of these offences — which, in the providence of God, 
must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He 
now wi.ls 10 remove, and that He gives to both Xorlh and South this terrible war 
as the woe due to those by whom the offence came — shall we discern therein any 
departure from those divine attributes wliich the believers in a living God always 
ascribe to Him ? Fondly do w e hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty 
scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until 
all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of nnrequited 
toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid 
by another dra^vn by the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it 
must be said that the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 

With malice toward none, vrith charity for all^ with firmness in the right, as 
God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind 
up the nation's wound, to care for him wlio shaU have borne the battle, and for 
his widows and orphans ; to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and last- 
ing peace among ourselves and with all nations. 

Up t ) tlie time of liis arrival at Fayetteville, General Sherman tad 
captured fourteen cities, eighty-five cannon, four thousand prisoners, 
twentv-iive thousand horses, raulcs and cattle, and liberated over fifteen 
thousand prisoners and slaves. 

On the 14th he left Fayetteville for Goldsborough, where he had 
arranged to form a junction with General Schofield on the 22d, and 
where he would be put in direct communication with Washington, by 



ADMINISTEATION OF LINCOLN. 



753 



way of the Neuse River and Newbern. The enemy now, for the first 
time since he left Atlanta, menaced Sherman in front with a formid- 
able army. Hardee and Bras^g had joined Johnston, and on the 15th 
and 16Lh struggled without avail to resist Sherman's march. On the 
19th, at Bentonsville, Sherman found them strongly entrenched, de- 
termined to prevent his junction wiih Schofield ; for Johnston well 
knew that if that junction was once effected, the combined army could 
not be successfully resisted anywhere. As Sherman approached, 
Johnston threw his massed forces upon the left wing, commanded by 
General Sherman, and drove it back. Reinforcements were at once 
brought up, and the rebel advance checked. Again and again John- 
ston threw his whole strength in the most desperate charges upon 
Sherman's lines, but the veterans stood firm as a rock, and repelled 
them. Night closed the confl.ict, and during the night the enemy 
retired. On the 22d, agreeable to an appointment made in Savannah, 
Sherman entered Goldsborough, and met Schofield. 

Schofield's march from Newbern to Goldsborough was resisted at 
Kinston by General Bragg, on the 7th, the day after he left Newbern, 
where Bragg captured 1500 prisoners and gained a temporary advan- 
tage by a flank movement. But Schofield rallied and repulsed him, 
and moved forward to Goldsborough unobstructed. 

Arrived at Goldsborough, General Sherman reported to General 
Grant that he had lost, since leaving Savannah, in killed, wounded, 
and prisoners, only 2,500 men. Sherman at once hastened to City 
Point, where he had an interview with General Grant and the Presi- 
dent, and where, between them, the plans were arranged for the finish- 
ing blows at the rebel power. 

We now approach the grand movements of Grant and Sheridan, by 
which the rebel power was crushed, and the war brought to a close. 

On the 27th of February, Sheridan left Winchester with nearly the 
whole of his command, and on the 6th of March had defeated Early 
at Waynesborough, and entered Charlottesville. Here he divided his 
command in two columns ; one under General Deven took a direct 
southern route to Scottsville, destroying everything capable of subsist- 
ing an army, and then turned towards Lynchburg, to meet the other 
division, which had proceeded directly to that place. Both divisions 
then moved around the north side of Richmond, destroying everything 
in their path, including the Lynchburg canal, crossed the James River 
at Deep Bottom, and joined Grant south of Petersburg. 

On the 25th of March, at daybreak, General Lee made an attack 



754 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



upon Fort Steadman, the strongest position in Grant's lines, and cap- 
tured it, but was soon driven out of it with a loss of 3,000 men. The 
same day General Grant attacked the enemy at Hatcher's Run, and 
succeeded in gaining an advanced position, after a desperate fight. 

On the 29th the main column of the army moved out on the 
Vaughan road, towards Dinwiddle Court House. They crossed 
Hatcher's Run, the enemy resisting languidly. General Meade was in 
the front, and General Grant accompanied him. At night officers and 
men encamped on the field during a pelting rain. 

On the 30th, the lines were pushed forward to Dabney's Mills, 
where the euemy were entrenched and soon opened fire, which im- 
peded the advance for the day, although full possession was taken of 
the Boydton road. 

At daylight on the morning of the 31st, General Warren advanced 
with the Fifth corps, in a northwesterly direction, to secure the White 
Oak road, lie had not proceeded more than two miles when he was 
attacked furiously in front and on both flanks, and driven back in 
great disorder. The elated enemy pursued incautiously, and were in 
turn attacked by General Miles, and driven from the field. Again 
General Warren advanced, and secured the position for which he 
started in the morning. General Grant moved over the field during 
the day, and carefully watched every movement. At night, dissatisfied 
with Warren, he displaced him, and gave the supreme command of 
his corps to General Sheridan. 

The next morning, Saturday, April 1, Sheridan moved his entire 
command against the enemy at Five Forks, and after one of the most 
terrible battles of the war, succeeded in driving them into their 
intrenchments, where he flanked them and captured six thousand 
prisoners. This victory, indeed, had no more been done, would have 
compelled the evacuation of Richmond ; but Grant did not stop here. 

On Sunday he ordered an attack along the entire line in front of 
Petersburg, with the whole power of his army. The attack was suc- 
cessful. During that night Petersburg was abandoned, and at two 
o'clock on Monday morning was occupied by our troops. Simulta- 
neously with the evacuation of Petersburg, the rebels fled from Rich- 
mond. 

The first indication that the troops under General Weitzel had of 
the evacuation of Richmond was the explosions early on Monday morn- 
ing in the river above, which were very heavy, and gave the assurance 
that something extraordinary was transpiring. General Weitzel im- 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



155 



mediately advanced his picket line, and soon after the Twenty-fourth 
corps was formed and ordered forward cautiously. The rebel picket 
line was found evacuated, and immediately the whole corps followe<l 
with the wildest enthusiasm. The works were of the most formidable 
character, and could not have been carried by assault, except at a fear- 
ful loss of life. They consisted of earthworks constructed in the most 
skilful manner, and protected by artfully planned abatis and ditches. 
The forts mounted in all about three hundred guns, many of them of 
very heavy calibre, and to a great extent uninjured. 

The advance into the city was led by General Ripley, commanding 
the second brigade of the Twenty -fourth army corps. General Weitzel 
and staff .-iccompanying it. When near the city a detachment of the 
Fourth Massachusetts cavalry was sent in with a demand upon Mayor 
Mayo for its surrender, which was at once complied with. As the 
cohimn entered the city it was greeted with the most enthusiastic 
demo. IS' rations of joy, especially on the part of the negro population, 
who hailed with the most extravagant jubilation the appearance of 
their sable brethren in arms. 

The Twenty-fourth army corps then took possession of the city, and 
General Weitzel estabiislied his headquarters, temporarily, at the Vir- 
ginia House of Delegates in Capitol Square. He issued an order pro- 
claiming martial law, and assuring the people that he had come to 
restore the blessmgs of peace under the flag of the Union. He 
requested them to remain in their homes and to avoid all assemblages 
in the street. He appointed General Shepley military goveSfnor, a^d 
Colonel Frederick S. Manning, provost-marshal of the city. 

On taking command as military governor. General Shepley issued 
an order, in which he said that the armies of the rebellion having 
abandoned all efforts to enslave Virginia, and having attempted to fire 
the capital, which they could no longer hold by force of arms, it would 
be the first duty of our armies to extinguish the flames, and save the 
city. He ordered Colonel Manning to detail a force under the provost 
guard to use the utmost efforts to stay the ravages of the flames, 
which had already destroyed nearly forty blocks of houses. He also 
ordered the prompt punishment of every man who was found pillaging 
or foiaging on his own account. 

The evacuation of Richmond had been in progress for some weeks, and 
the citizens generally understood that the city was to be given up, but 
at what time no one except General Lee knew. The public archives 
were removed to Lynchburg, and the valuable effects of the banks and 



756 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



piivatG citizens also took their flight for a place of security about the 
same time. As soon as General Grant's movement from the immedi- 
ate fi ont of Petersburg became clearly defined, prominent citizens pre- 
pared for a hasty departure, feeling confident that the city could not 
much longer be held by the army of Lee. Upon the departure of the 
army on Sunday, the cotton, tobacco, and commissary stores were set 
on fire by the rebel troops, but owing to the exertions of Colonel Man- 
ning, the fire was extinguished, and the entire city was saved from 
being left a mass of smoking ruins. 

Jeff". Davis left on Sunday noon, with his family, taking the Danville 
road. He had removed the most valuable portion of his furniture 
many days previous. Just before he left he received a cipher despatch 
from General Lee, which, doubtless, accelerated his departure. 

On the 4t!i, President Lincoln entered Richmond, and was received 
with great enthusiasm. He occupied the mansion of the late rebel 
President. 

General Lee. on leavinir Ptichmond, aimed to reach Lvnchburir. 
On the morning of the 5th, he had reached Ameha Court House, 
foity -seven miles from Richmond, with a still large and formidable 
army. The fiery Sheridan, by a wide detour, had reached Burkesville 
the same day, fifteen miles in advance of him. He at once sent word 
to General Giant to come up immediately, for there was now no escape 
for Lee. Li the meantime he attacked the enemy's flank with success, 
and at Dentonville, General Meade, who had arrived, attacked his 
centre, and captured several thousand prisoners. 

General Grant arrived on the 7th, and seeing the situation, at once 
addressed the following letter to General Lee : 

"General : The result of the last week must convince you of the 
hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the army of Northern 
Virginia in this strugMe. I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty 
to shift from myself the responsibility of any further eflfusion of blood, 
by asking of yon the surrender of that portion of the C. S. army, known 
as the army of Northern Virginia." 

To which General Lee replied : 

" General : I received vour note of this date. Thouorh not entirely 
of the opinion you express of the hopelessness of further resistance on 
the part of the army of Northern Virginia, I reciprocate your desire 
to avoid useless efi'usion of blood, and therefore, before considering 
your proposition, ask the terms you will oflfer, on condition of its sur- 
render." 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



757 



General Grant replied on the next day, the 8th, that "peace being 
my first desire, there is but one condition that I insist upon, viz., that 
the men surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arras against 
the government of the United States, until properly exchanged." 

On General Lee asking for more particular terms. General Grant 
replied on the 9th, as follows : 

"General R. E. Lee, Commanding C. S. A. : 

"In accordance with the substance of my letter to you, of the 8th 
instant, I propose to receive the surrender of the army of Northern 
Virginia on the followinor terms, to wit : 

" Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate, one copy 
to be given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained by 
such ofiicers as yon may designate. 

"The officers to give their individual paroles not to take arms 
against the United States until properly exchanged, and each com- 
pany or regimental commander to sign a like parole for the men of their 
commands. 

" The arms, artillery, and public property to be parked and stacked, 
and turned over to the ofiicers appointed by me to receive them. 
This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their private 
horses or baggage. 

" This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to 
their homes, not to be disturbed by the United States authority, so 
long as they observe their parole and the laws in force where they 
may reside." 

These terms were at once accepted by General Lee, and the soldiers 
were soon dispersed to their homes. 

As soon as General Johnston heard of the surrender of Lee, he 
capitulated to General Sherman, receiving the same terms as were 
accorded to Lee. A few weeks later, the rebel army west of the Mis- 
sissippi, under Kirby Smith, surrendered. Mobile was given up, and 
the Southern Confederacy vanished from human sight. 

While the country was ringing with joy over the close of the great 
war, which for four years had taxed the resources and absorbed the 
best blood of the land, an event occurred that turned all hearts to 
mourning, and struck the world with horror. 

On the evening of Friday, April 14, President Lincoln and wife, 
with other friends, visited Ford's Theatre, in Washington, for the pur- 
pose of witnessing the performance of the " American Cousin." 

The theatre was densely crowded, and everybody seemed delighted 



758 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



with the scene before them. During the third act, and while there 
■was a temporary pause for one of the actors to enter, at 9.30 p. m., a 
sharp report of a pistol was heard, which merely attracted attention, 
but suggested nothing seiions, until a man rnshod to the front of the 
President's box, wa\ ing a long d; gger in his right hand, and exclaim- 
ing, " Sic semper tyrajini- .,'" and immediately leaped from the box, 
which was in the seijond tier, to the stage benea'uh, and ran across to 
the opposite side, making his escape amid the bewildennent of the 
audience, from the lear of the theatre, and miumting a horse, fled. 

In his leap from the box, he caught his spur in a flag that was fes- 
tooned in front, and was thrown violently upon the stage, seriously 
fracturing one of his legs. 

The screams of Mrs. Lincoln first disclosed the fact to the audience 
that the President had been shot, whm all present rose to their 
feel, rashing toward the stage, many exclaiming, "Hang him ! hang 
him 

The excitement was of the wildest possible description, and of course 
there was an abrupt termination of the theatrical performance. 

There was a rush towards the President's box, when cries were 
heard, " Stand back and give him air." " lias any one stimulants ?" 
On a hastv examination, it was found that the President liad been shot 
through the head, above and back of the temporal bone, and that 
some of the brain was oozing out. He was removed to a private house 
opposite the theatre, and the surgeon-general of the army and other 
su QfeoMS sent for to attend to his condition. 

On an exa nination of the private box blood was discovered on the 
back of the cushioned rocking-chair on which the President had been 
sittingj, also on the partition and on the floor. A common single-bar- 
reled pocket pistol was found on the carpet. 

The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, a play-actor, had been observed 
working his way through the crowd of persons towards the box 
occupied by the presidential party, but of course no suspicion was 
excited by the circumstance. When he reached the sentry at the door 
of the box, he was of course refused admittance ; but in a whisper he 
announced himself as a senator, and said the President had sent for 
him. He was then alh)wed to pass in, when an attendant confronted 
in a low tone of voice with, "You mistake, sir; this is the President's 
box." Booth graciously begged pardon, turned to go, and struck at 
liim with a knife, inflicting a severe but not dangerous wound. He 
stopped out of the box, passed on to the second door, which was closed, 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



V69 



fired through it, stepped back again in the box at the first door, and in 
an instant had sprung out upon the stage. The whole affair was the 
work of thirty seconds. 

In a few minutes after water and stimulants had been handed up to 
the box, a way was cleared through the excited and confused crowd, 
and the President was taken across to the residence of Mr. Peter- 
son, opposite the theatre, on Tenth Street, where he remained till he 
expired. 

The Rev. Dr. Gurley, of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, 
immediately on its being ascertained that life was extinct, knelt at the 
bedside and offered an impressive prayer, which was responded to by- 
all present. 

Dr. Gurley then proceeded to the front parlor, where Mrs. Lincoln, 
Captain Robert Lincoln, Mr. John Hay, the private secretary, and 
others, were waiting, where he again offered a prayer for the consola- 
tion of the family. 

The scenes in the sick chamber are reported to have been of an un- 
usually affecting character. Mrs. Lincoln and her two sons gave way 
to the most uncontrollable grief and lamentations ; the former accusing 
herself, in her frantic grief, for having gone to the theatre, and other 
womanly exhibitions of deep suffering, too sad and too delicate for 
description. Around the bedside, at intervals, were Secretary Stanton, 
who fairly wept tears at the sad spectacle. The President was insen- 
sible, and spoke no word after he was shot. At about half-past eleven, 
the motion of the muscles of his face indicated as if he were trying, or 
about to speak, but no intelligible word escaped him. The blood from 
the wound in his neck interfered with his breathing ; his pulse was 
low, but otherwise he seemed to be without pain. At four o'clock, 
the symptoms of restlessness returned, and at six the premonitions of 
dissolution set in. His face, which had been quite pale, began to 
assume a waxy transparency, the jaw to fall, and the teeth to be seen^ 
Gradually and calmly, without a ruffle or a groan, his spirit passed 
away, and at twenty-two minutes past seven, on the morning of April 
15th, all that bound the soul of Abraham Lincoln to earth was loosened, 
and the heavenly spark fled to its Maker. And so closed the eventful 
career of one of the most remarkable men of our countrv's historv, one 
whose lot it was to take a leading part in, perhaps, the greatest drama 
of all time. 

A few minutes before the assassination of the President, a man, tall, 
athletic, and dressed in light-colored clothes, alighted from a horse in 



7^0 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



front of Mr. Seward's residence in Madison place, where the secretary 
was lying very feeble from recent injuries. Leaving his horse stand- 
ing, the stranger rang at the door, and informed the servant who ad- 
mitted him that he desired to see Mr. Seward. The servant responded 
that Mr. Seward was very ill, and that no visitors were admitted. 
" But I am a messenger from Dr. Verdi, Mr. Seward's physician ; I 
have a prescription which I must deliver to him myself." The servant 
still demurring, the stranger, without further parley, pushed him aside 
and ascended the stairs. Moving to the right, he proceeded toward 
Mr. Seward's room, and was about to enter it, when Mr. Frederick 
Seward appeared from an opposite doorway and demanded his business. 
He responded in the same manner as to the servant below, but being 
met with a refusal, suddenly closed the controversy by striking Mr. 
Seward a severe blow across the forehead with the butt of a pistol. 
As the first victim fell. Major Seward, another and younger son of the 
secretary, emerged from his father's room. Without a word the man 
drew a knife and struck the m.ijor several blows with it, rushing into the 
chamber as he did so ; then, after dealing the nurse a horrible wound 
across the bowels, he sprang to the bed upon which the secretary lay, 
stabbing him two or three times in the face and neck. Mr. Seward 
arose convulsively and fell from the bed to the floor. Turning and 
brandishing his knife anew, the assassin fled from the room, cleared 
the prostrate form of Frederick Seward in the hall, descended the 
stairs in three leaps, and was out of the door and upon his horse in an 
instant. It is stated by a person who saw him mount that, although 
he leaped upon his horse with most unseemly haste, he trotted away 
around the corner of the block with circumspect deliberation. 

The miscreant who committed this act was Lewis Payne (his real 
name was Powell), the son of a Baptist clergyman in Florida, and a 
deserter from the rebel army. He was arrested on the night of the 
I7th, at the house of Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, and at the same time Mrs. 
Surratt was herself arrested. George A. Atzerott, an accomplice with 
Booth and Payne, whose designated work was the murder of Vice- 
President Johnson, lacked courage to perform his work, and was 
arrested on the 20th, at Middleburg, in Maryland. 

After committing the fatal deed, Booth mounted his horse, and was 
joined by David C. Harold, a young man whom he had engaged as 
an accomplice to aid him in his escape. They rode thirty-five miles to 
Bryantown, Maryland, the residence of one Dr. Samuel Mudd, where 
his fractured leg was dressed. He represented to the doctor that his 



ADMIiaSTEATION OF LINCOLN. 



leg was ft'actured by being thrown from his horse. After leaving 
Bryantown they contrived to cross the Potomac, and secrete theno- 
selves in the vicinity of Port Royal, on the Rappahannock River 
where they were traced by a cavalry detachment under Lieut. -Colonel 
Conger. Finally they were traced to the house of a man named Gar- 
rett, three miles from Port Royal. The cavalry party surrounded the 
house and barn at two o'clock on Wednesday morning, April 26th, 
twelve days after the murder of the President. Booth and Harold 
had taken refuge in the barn. The barn was surrounded, and Booth 
ordered to give himself up. This he refused to do; but Harold thrust 
out his hands, and was pulled from the door, tied, and placed in the 
chai'ge of a guard. 

"When Harold had come out. Colonel Conger was satisfied that fur- 
ther parley with Booth was vain ; that he would not surrender; and, 
passing to the other side of the barn, he pulled out a wisp of hay from 
one of the crevices, and lighting it by a match, thrust it back among 
the hay. Within a few minutes the blazing hay lighted up the inside 
of the barn. Booth, who was at first discovered leaning upon a crutch, 
threw it down, and with a carbine in his hands, came towards the 
side where the fire bad been applied. But the light of the fire inside 
prevented him from seeing who was on the outside. He paused, 
looked at the fire for a moment, and then started towards the door. 

When about the middle of the barn, he was shot bv Sergeant Cor- 
bett, who had, meanwhile, crept up to the barn, and fired through a 
crevice of the boards. 

Booth fell on the floor of the barn. Colonel Conger and Lieutenant 
Baker immediately entered, and with the assistance of two of the sol- 
diers, removed the wounded man, and placed him on the grass outside 
the barn. He appeared to be insensible, but in a few minutes partially 
revived, and made efforts to speak. By placing his ear close to 
Booth's mouth. Colonel Conger heard him say, " Tell mother I die for 
my country." 

He was then carried to the porch of Garrett's house. Colonel Con- 
ger sent to Port Royal for a physician, who, on his arrival, found 
Booth dying. Before the moment of final dissolution he repeated, 
" Tell mother I died for my country. I did what I thought was for 
the best." 

When an effort was made to revive him, by bathing his face and 
hands in cold water, he uttered the words, " useless — useless." 



762 



ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN. 



He was shot at about fifteen minutes past three, a. m., and died a 
little after seven, a. m. 

The body of Booth was taken to Washington, and was disposed of 
secretly, so that no one now knows what was done with it except 
those who had it in charge. Harold was sent to prison. 

The paities implicated as principals and accomplices in the murder 
of the President, were arraigned before a military commission, in 
Washington, and after a long and full trial, four of them, viz., Mrs. 
Surratt, Payne, Harold, and Atzerott, were sentenced to death, and 
hung on Friday, the 7th of July. Dr. Mudd, A.rnold, and 0"Lauohlin 
are now in the Dry Tortngas, sentenced to impi isonmetit for I'fe ; and 
Spangler, the servant of Booth, is serving out his sentence of six years' 
in the same place. John Surratt, a son of Mis. Surratt, who was exe- 
cuted, has not yet (September, 1865), been arrested, although the evi- 
dence on the trial of his mother clearly fixed his guilt. 

On the death of President Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, the Vice- 
President, at once assumed the office of President, and surrounded 
with difficulties and trials such as seld<mi have been experienced, is 
laboring to restore the government to its condition before the covert 
and open assaults of treason were made upon it ; and he who stood 
calmly and wisely at the helm, and guided the ship of state safely 
through its great perils, rests in peace, with the blessings upon his 
memory of all the wise and good «f all countries. 

It only remains to add, that the ex-rebel president, Jefferson Davis, 
was pursued and taken prisoner in Georgia, and is now (Septeujber, 
1865) in Fortress Monioe, awaiting his trial either for treason or for 
complicity with the assassination of President Lincoln; and Alexander 
H. Stephens is in Fort Warren, in Boston Harbor, awaiting his trial 
for treason. 



CHAPTER LYII. 



ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 



-J N tlie morning of the lotli of April, Andrew Johnson 
vL-^i^ took the oaih of office, and entered upon his duties as 
^^m^Jl President of the United States. Born in Paleio-h, 
North Carolina, on the 29th day of December, 1808, he 
was left fatherless at the age of four years. At the early age of 
ten years, and without ever having attended school, he was 
apprenticed to a tailor in his native city. During his apprenticeship 
he learned to read, and passed much of his time at niglit in reading 
the works of the best English authors within his reach. In 1826 he 
removed to Greenville, Tenn., taking his mother along with him, who 
was dependent upon him for support. Here he soon married, and was 
taught by his wife all the branches of a good English education, which 
he then lacked. In 1830, at the age of twenty-two, he was elected 
mayor of the city, and five years later he was sent to the State Legis- 
lature, and was afterward frequently re-elected. In 1843 he was 
elected to Congress, and served ten years, when he was elected Gov- 
ernor of his State, which office he held till 1857, when he was elected 
a Senator of the United States. In this capacity he was acting when 
the rebellion broke out. He was a defiant enemy of the spirit of 
secession from the first; and by President Lincoln was appointed Gov- 
ernor of Tennessee, with full military power to protect the State. HivS 
nomination for Vice-President on the ticket with Mr. Lincoln, and 
his accession to the office of President made vacant by the death of 
Mr. Lincoln, have been ali-eady noticed. 

President Johnson found the Southern people prostrate at the feet 
of national authoiity, and his first care was to restore the States to 
their proper position in the Union, and to establish custom-houses, 
post-roads, and post offices, &c. 

As the first step towards restoring the State Governments, be 



764 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHNSON. 



appointed provisional governors in all tine States where loyal govern- 
ors were not in power, and directed them to call conventions of dele- 
gates fresh from the people, to revise the State Constitutions, and 
cause them to harmonize with the Constitution of the United States. 
The following were the governors appointed : 



XoRTH Carouna, TTiliiam W. Holden, May 29. 
Mississippi.. . . . William L. Sharkey, June 13. 

Georgia. James Johnson, June 17. 

Texas, Andrew J. Hamilton, June 17. 

Alabama, Lewis E. Parsons, June 21. 

South Carolina,. Benjamin F. Perry, July 1. 
Florida, AVilliam Marvin, July 16. 



By direction of these governors, conventions were held in every 
State, all ordinances of secession were repealed, the war debts were 
repudiated, slavery was abolished forever, and State constitutions were 
formed conforming to the national authority. 

Uoder the Stiite Constitutions thus foimed, elections have been 
held for all the State officers, and Legislatures have been in session. 
All have recognized the abolition of slavery, the repudiation of the 
rebel debt, and the amendment of the Constitution of the United 
States prohibiting slavery, wherever the national authority extends. 

This amendment to the Constitution required the assent of twenty- 
seven Srates, or two-thirds of the whole number of States now in the 
Union, Tlie following States have ratified it, and the abolition of 
slavery throughout the United States is now complete and eternal : 



rUinois, Feb. 1, 1865. 
Ehode Isliind, Feb. 2. 
Maryland, Feb. 3. 
MassacbusetLs. Feb. 3. 
Pennsylvania, Feb. 3. 
"VTest Tirginia, Feb. 3. 
Michigan, Feb. 3. 
Maine, Feb. 7, 
Ohio, Feb. 8. 



Kansas, Feb. S. 
Minnesota, Feb. 8. 
Xew York, Feb. 3. 
Tirginia, Feb. 9. 
Indiana, Feb. 13. 
Nevada. Feb. 16. 
Louisiana, Feb. IT. 
Ml-^'iri, Feb. 24. 
Wisconsin, Feb. 22. 



Termont March 9. 

Tennessee, April 5. 

Arkansas, April — . 

Connecticut, May 4, 

lowa, June 30. 

Xew Hampshire. June 30. 

SoutJa Carolina, Nov. 13. 

Alabama. 

Mississippu 



One of the duties devolving upon the Executive has been to brins: 

to trial the persons guilty of mnrdering and otherwise crnolly treating 
the Union prisoners of war iu the hands of the Southern anthorines. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHNSON. 



165 



The first one of these miscreants brought to trial was Henry Wirz, by 
birth a Swiss, but a captain in the rebel army, and from the spring of 
1864 to the close of the war, the officer in charge of the rebel prison 
at Andersonville, Georgia. His trial came on before a military com- 
mission in the city of Washington, on the 21st of August, 1865, and 
was completed' on Saturday, the 4th of November. Many hundreds 
of witnesses were examined, and the cruelties they testified to have no 
parallel in the history of civilized men. Suffice it for the limits of 
this volume to say, that the terrible charges in this specification in the 
indictment upon which Wirz was tried, were most fully proved : 

"That he, the said Henry Wirz, did combine, confederate, and con- 
spire with them, the said Kobert E. Lee, James A. Sedden, John H. 
Winder, Lucius H. Northrop, Richard B. Winder, Joseph White, 

W. S. Winder, R. R. Stephenson, More, and others, whose 

names are unknown, citizens of the United States aforesaid, and who 
were then enorao;ed in armed rebellion asiainst the United States, 
maliciously, traitorously, and in violation of the laws of w^ar, to impair 
and injure the health, and to destroy the lives, by subjecting to torture 
and great suffering, by confining in unhealthy and unwholesome quar- 
ters, by exposing to the inclemency of winter and to the dews and 
burning sun of summer, by compelling the use of impure water, and 
by furnishing insufficient and unwholesome food, of large numbers of 
Federal prisoners, soldiers in the military service of the United States 
of America, held as prisoners of war at Andersonville, in the State of 
Georgia, within the lines of the so-called Confederate States, on or 
before the first day of March, a. d. 1864, and at divers times between 
that day and the tenth day of April, a. d. 1865, to the end that the 
armies of the United States might be weakened and impaired, and the 
insurgents engaged in armed rebellion against the United States might 
be aided and comforted ; and he, the said Henry Wirz, an officer in 
the military service of the so-called Confederate States, being then and 
there comn>andant of a military prison at Andersonville, in the State 
of Georgia, located by authority of the so-called Confederate States, for 
the confinement of prisoners of war, and, as such commandant, fully 
clothed with authoiity, and in duty bound to treat, care, and provide 
for such prisoners held as aforesaid, as were or might be placed in his 
custody accor ding to the law of war, did, in furtherance of such com- 
bination, confine a large number of such prisoners of war, soldiers in 
the military service of the United States, to the amount of thirty 



Y66 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHNSON. 



thousand men, in unliealtliy and unwholesome quarters, in a close and 
small area of ground, wholly inadequate to their wants and des'.ruetive 
to their health, which he well knew and intended ; and while there so 
confined, during the time aforesaid, did, in furtherance of his evil 
design, and in aid of the said conspiracy, willfully and maliciously 
neglect to farnish tents, barracks, or other shelter sufficient for their 
protection from the inclemency of winter, and the dews and burning 
sun of summer, and with such evil intent, did take and cause to be 
taken from them their clothing, blankets, camp equipage, and other 
property of whi(rh they were possessed at the time <.)f being placed in 
his custody ; and with like ujalice and evil intent, did rcfn.se to furnish, 
or cause to be furnished, food, either of a quality or quantity sufficient 
to preserve health and sustain life; and did refuse and neglect to far- 
7iish wood sufficient for cooking in summer, and to keep the said pris- 
oners warm in winter; and did compel the said prisonei-s to subsist 
upon unwholesome water, reeking with the filth and gajbage of the 
prison and prison yard, and the offiil and drainage of the cook-house 
of said prison, whereby the prisoners became greatly reduced in their 
bodilv stief.gth, and emaciated, and injured in their bodily health, 
their minds impaired, and their intellects broken, and many of them, 
t-o wit, ten thousand, whose names are unknown, sickened and died 
by reason thereof; which he, the said Henry Wirz, then and there 
well knew and intended ; and so knowing and evilly intending, did 
refuse and neglect to provide proper lodgings, food, or nourishment for 
the sick, and necessary medicine and medical attendance for the restor- 
atioii (»f their health, and did knowingly, maliciously, and willfully, in 
furtherance of his evil designs, jtermit them to languish and die from 
want c)f care and proper treatment. And the said Henry Wirz, still 
pursuing his evil purposes, did permit to remain in the said prison, 
among the emaciated sick and languishing living, the bodies of the 
dead until they became corrupt and loathsome, and filled the air with 
fetid and noxious exhalations, and thereby greatly increased the 
unwholesomeness of the prison, insomuch that great numbers of said 
prisoners, to wit, the number of one thousand, whose names are 
unknown, sickened and died by reason thereof. And the said Henry 
Wirz, still pursuing his wicked and cruel purpose, wholly disregarding 
the usages of civilized warfare, did at the tim-^ and place aforesaid, 
mali'-iously and willfully subject the prisoners aforesr.id to cruel, 
unusual, and infamous punishment upon slight, trivial, and fictitious 
pretenses, by fa-t'^niiig large balls of iron to their f. ^t, and binding 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHNSON. 



1Q1 



large numbers of the prisoners aforesaid closely together with large 
chains around their necks and feet, so that they walked with the greatest 
difficulty ; and being so confined, were subjected by the burning rays 
of the sun, often without food or drink for hours and even days, from 
which said cruel treatment, large numbers, to wit, the number of one 
hundred, whose names are unknown, sickened, fainted, and died. And 
he, the said Wirz, did further cruelly treat and injure said prisuneis by 
maliciously confining thcMii within an instrument of torture called * the 
stocks," thus depriving them of the use of their limbs, and forcing 
them to lie, sit, and stand for many hours without the power of 
changing position, and being without food or drink ; in consequence 
of wiiich, many, to wit, the number of thirty, whose names are 
unknown, sickened and died. And he, the said Wirz, still wickedly 
pursuing his evil purposes, did establish and cause to be designated 
within the prison inclosure containing said prisoners a dead line, being 
a line around the inner face of the stocka.le or wall inclosing said 
prison, and about twenty feet distant from and within said stockade ; 
and having established said dead line, which was in many places an 
imaginary line, and in many other places marked by insecure and 
shiftinir strips of boards nailed upon the tops of small and insecure 
stakes and posts, he, the said Wirz, instructed the prison guards 
stationed around the said stockade, to fire upon and kill any of the 
prisoners aforesaid, who might touch, fall upon, pass over or under or 
across the said dead line, pursuant to which said orders and instructions 
maliciously and needlessly given by said Wirz, the said prison guard 
did fire upon and kill a large number of said prisoners, to wit, the 
number of about three hundred. And the said Wirz, still pursuing 
his evil purpose, did k.H-p and use ferocious and blood-thirsty beasts, 
dangerous to human life, called bloodhounds, to hunt down prisoners 
of war aforesaid, who made their escape from his custody, and did 
then and there willfully and maliciously suffer, incite and encourage 
the said beasts to seize, tear, mangle and maim the bodies and limbs 
of said fugitive prisoners of war, which the said beasts, incited as afore- 
said, then and there did, whereby a large number of said prisoners of 
war, who, during the time aforesaid, made their escape and were 
recaptured, and were by the said beasts then and there cruelly and 
inhumanly injured, insomuch that many of said prisoners, to wit, the 
number of about fifty, died. And the said Wirz, still pursuing his 
■wicked purpose, and still aiding in carrying out said conspiracy, did 
use, and cause to be used for the pretended purposes of vaccination, 



768 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHNSON, 



impure and poisonous vaccine matter, which said impure and poison- 
ous matter was then and there, by the decision aud order of said 
Wirz, maliciously, cruelly and wickedly deposited in the arms of said 
prisoners, by reason of which large numbers of them, to wit, one hun- 
dred, lost their arms, and many of them, to wit, about the number of 
two hundred, were so injured that they soon thereafter died. All of 
which the said Henry Wirz well knew and maliciously intended, and 
in aid of the then existing rebellion against the United States, with 
the view to assist in weakening and impairing the armies of the 
United States, and in furtherance of the said conspiracy, and with the 
full knowledge, consent, and connivance of his conspirators aforesaid, 
the said Wirz then and there did." 

Other specifications charged him with murdering prisoners with 
his own hands on the slightest provocations. 

The court found him guilty of all these charges, and sentenced him 
to death by hanging. The President approved the sentence, and the 
wretch was hung in the yard of the Old Capitol prison, at Washing- 
ton, on Friday, the 10th of November. 

The keepers of other rebel prisons, equally guilty with Wirz, are 
now awaiting triaU 




CHAPTER LYIII. 



CANADA UNDER THE BRITISH. 

HE history of Canada under the Frenot 
has been given in a previous part of 
this work; and for an account of its 
conquest by the British, the reader is 
referred to Chapter XXY. The popu- 
lation at the time of the conquest was 
about seventy thousand, divided in a 
poor yet much respected nobility, and 
the (Adfivators — race frugal, industrious, and moral. General Mar- 

769 




770 



CANADA UNDER THE BRITISH. 



ray was appointed governor, and during his administration the rights 
of the old settlers were faithfully guarantied to them. In fact, the 
British government, immediately after the conquest, exercised toward 
the Canadians a policy at once liberal and wise. The habitans, as they 
are now called, were secured in their property, invested with the rights 
of citizens, and allowed the free enjoyment of their religion. The laws 
of England, both civil and criminal, including trial by jury, were also 
introduced, and though the French still preferred, in many cases, the 
customs reconciled to them by habit, they did not fail to appreciate 
most of the improvements introduced by the new government. 

At the time of the conquest, the British residents of Canada, exclu- 
sive of military men, were few and weak. Some five hundred traders, 
mostly of small capital, were scattered through the provinces. Tbey 
seem to have been but ill-fitted for their station, often exhibiting a 
bigoted spirit, and an unjustifiable contempt of the French population. 
But owing to the firmness of the governor, the latter were protected by 
all the means at his disposal ; and by this impartiality not only were 
many collisions between the two races avoided, but the old inhabitants 
became attached to the governor, and respected his government. 

Little of historic interest occurred in the colony from this time until 
the revolt of the Thirteen colonies south of Canada. The importance of 
maintaining the Canadians in a state of loyalty was well understood by 
the mother country; and in order to gratify national partialities. Par- 
liament, in 1774, passed the Quebec Act, by which the English civil 
law was superseded by the old French code, which had existed before 
the conquest. The only reservation was that of the criminal branch, 
which continued similar to that of England. The Fi-ench language 
was to be used in the courts ; but no provision was made for a national 
representation. It is probably owing to the latter cause, that this act, 
designed to efiect a complete reconciliation between the two races, 
failed to accomplish that object. But during the struggle between 
Great Britain and her revolted colonies, the Canadians steadily main- 
tained their allegiance. This was the more singular, from the fact that 
the American Congress and other republican bodies issued stirring ap- 
peals to the inhabitants, exhorting them to join against the common foe 
Yet the British, as though confiding in the fidelity of the Canadians, 
withdrew almost all their troops from the province, in order to employ 
^hem in the south. 

The Americans, failing in their attempts to enlist the Canaiians in 
their cause, adopted the bold resolution of invading Canada with a view 
to its conquest. Of the daring manner in which the invasion w^as cod- 



■DIVIDED [NTO TWO TROVIKCES. 771 




CHABIiSa JAMES FOX. 



ducted, — of the appalling sufterino-s, ami lioroic fortitude of olEcers 
and men, the fate of their leader, and the ultimate issue of the expedi- 
tion, the reader will find an account in the twenty-eighth chapter ol 
this volume. 

From this time until the close of the American war, few events of 
sufficient importance to narrate occurred in Canada. In 1783, when 
j^eace was concluded, numbers of loyalists, obnoxious to the Americans, 
passed into Canada, where they received liberal grants of land, and by 
their sobriety and industry laid the foundation of the prosperity which 
subsequently distinguished the Upper Province. But the p ;ople wer<» 
still anxious for a representative government. The Quebec Act had 
nrovided for the appointment of a legislative council of twenty-three 



772 



CANADA UNDER THE BRITISH. 



members, but tlie nomination of these rested with the sovereign ; besides • 
which, the administration, civil and military, was conducted by an indi- 
vidual exercising the powers of governor and commander-in-chief. 
Hence dissatisfaction rather increased than diminished; and this was 
the case more especially, after the example of the United States' govern' 
ment had begun to operate. In 1784, a petition asking for a repre- 
sentative government, and signed mostly by British settlers, and by 
many of the French, was presented to Parliament. The p<^tition re- 
ceived but little attention, until 1790, when Mr. Pitt proposed in Par- 
liament a scheme of government for Canada, based upon that of the 
English constitution. The first cliange to be effected was the dividing of 
the province into Upper Canada and Lower Canada, of which each was 
to have a separate constitution. This division was strongly opposed by 
Fox a,nd other Whig members, who based their hopes for the successful 
legislation of the colony, upon the reconciliation and ultimate amalga- 
mation of the two classes of population. On the other hand, Pitt con- 
tended that the attempt at union, when race, language and manners, 
were so different, would only produce dissension and disunion. He pre- 
vailed, and the measure became a law. Other differences arose in Par- 
liament, concerning the constitution of the legislative council. Pitt 
proposed that it should consist of a hereditary nobility, among whom 
were to be included the more respectable French lords. Fox advocated 
a representative council, but as this was ill received, he suggested that 
the members be chosen by the king for life. The latter plan was 
adopted. 

In 1792, the first house of Assembly, numbering fifty -two members, 
was opened by Lieutenant-governor Clark ; but their proceedings for 
some years were not of sufficient importance to merit notice. In 1798 
troubles arose concerning the granting of land, the board appointed for 
that purpose having appropriated large districts to themselves. Loud 
complaints were made against this proceeding, as it tended to prevent 
the general settlement of the province. Much time elapsed before this 
affair was adjusted. In 1803, slavery was abolished in Canada. 

In 1807, Sir James Craig was appointed governor. His administra- 
tion forms an era in Canadian history. Hitherto the affairs of the co- 
lony had been left almost entirely to the discretion of the executive; 
now the House of Assembly, as though suddenly conscious of its im- 
portance, appeared anxious to render itself independent. One of the 
first acts, with a view to attain this object, was to demand that the 
judges should be expelled from their body, as they were removable fcj 
the crown. Should it be done, the members offered to defray the e^- 



THE REIGN OF TERROR. 773 




VIBW TBOV THS OITADBI, A.T KINGSTON. 

penses of the civil administration from the funds of the colony. The 
offer was angrily rejected, and the Assemhly dissolved. A new Assem- 
bly, which convened in 1811, displayed the same independent spirit. A 
newspaper — the Canadian — defended the Assembly and attacked the 
government. The printer was sent to prison, and his stock destroyed. 
Several other individuals were seized, and a course pursued by the execu- 
tive which has caused this period to be designated as the reign of terror. 
This period may be considered as the beginning of the dissensions which 
have since agitated the colony ; but at the time, their progress was sus- 
pended by the war of 1812. The principal events of Canadian history 
connected with that war are elsewhere narrated. 

At the close of that war, the former disturbances were renewed, and 
have continued to agitate the province with more or less violence to the 
present time. From 1815 — 23 successive governors were engaged in 
proposing measures of reform in the system of finance; but their efforts 
were not generally seconded by the Assembly. In 1824, under the 
administration of Lord Dalhousie, the House of Representatives con- 
demned many of the former appropriations of the public money, and 
denied the right of the crown to interfere in that matter. These measures 
increased the prevailing discontent. In 1828, a petition, complaining of 
the governor's conduct, and urging compliance with the acts of Assem- 



774 CANADA UXDER THE BRITISH. 




SIR ROBBRT PHKL. 



bij, was sent to the king. It contained eighty-seven thousand signatures. 
A committee in the House of Commons reported favourahly for the pe- 
titioners — a measure which gave great satisfaction — and important re- 
f )niis were in consequence introduced. After the death of George TV., 
new disputes arose on the questions of making judges independent of 
the crown, and granting a permanent provision to the governor. The 
Assembly decided against the latter, a result which placed them at va- 
riance with the crown. Under Lord Goderich's administration, (1833,) 
the breach widened, in consequence of the Assembly demanding powers 
which that nobleman regarded as exorbitant. In the same year, the 
Assembly asked that the legislative council might, like themselves, \>e 
elected by the body of the people. Lord Stanley, as head of the colonial 
office, refused in severe terms to lay the subject before the king ; in con- 
sequence of which the Assembly voted no supply that year. 



EARL OF GOSFORD, GOVERNOR. 



775 



When Sir Robert Peel assumed the direction of affairs in England, 
he determined on sending a commissioner to Canada, empowered to 
examine and redress every real grievance which might be found. The 
overthrow of the Peel ministry prevented the execution of this plan. 
Soon after, the Earl of Gosford was appointed governor. He seems to 
have been sincerely desirous of reform. His first intercourse with the 
Assembly and the popular leaders was amicable and conciliatory ; but 
the somewhat harsh character of his instructions caused a violent tumult 
as soon as known, and produced an open -rupture with the Assembly. 
The council strongly opposed the Representatives, so that no business 
of importance could be transacted. A meeting of the Provincial Par- 
liament, in September, 1836, failed to effect a reconciliation. As nc 
supplies could be obtained from the Assembly, the government was re- 
duced to the alternative of suspending official operations, seizing sup- 
plies, or demanding the interposition of the mother country. Parliament 
promptly decided upon coercive measures, declaring, by large majorities, 
that the money withheld by the Assembly should be seized for adminis- 
trative purposes, and that the executive council was not responsible to the 
Representative3 for its acts. The death of William IV. prpvented these 
measures from becoming laws. 

Meantime, violent popular demonstrations had taken place. Or 
hearing of the movements of the leaders, the governor requested 
a regiment of troops from New Brunswick, and warned the people 
about engaging in seditious movements. The Assembly denounced 
the measures of Parliament, and declared that, if carried into effect, 
the colony would no longer be attached to the mother country by 
feelings of duty or affection, but by force. The popular leaders resolved 
on an appeal to arms. Secret associations were formed, violent meetings 
held, and arms collected. Men calling themselves the " Sons of Liberty," 
paraded the streets of Montreal. Similar associations were formed at 
the village of the Two Mountains. Numbers refused to obey the magis- 
trates ; a popular militia was organized ; and many openly declared a 
separation from the mother country to be necessary. 

Meanwhile government was on the alert. Two more regiments were 
ordered from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Volunteer corps of the 
loyal inhabitants were formed ; and various proclamations made to the 
societies and the people. In Montreal, a party of the " Sons of Liber- 
were defeated and driven through the streets, and the office of a 
liberal paper destroyed. Warrants were issued against twenty -six (A 
the popular leaders, and nine of them were arrested. Two of theH« 
were subsequently rescued near Longuevil by an armed force of thrw« 



778 



CANADA UNDER THE BRITISH. 




LAKB or TBB TWO MOUNTAINS. 



hundred men. The principal leaders, Papineau, Brown, and Wilson, 
were reported to have taken refuge in the villages of St. Denis and St 
Charles. A considerable force, under Colonels Grore and Wetherall, was 
sent against them. On reachiog St. Denis, Colonel Gore found the en- 
trance defended by a stone house, from which a fire of musketry was 
opened upon him. His efforts to batter it down were unavailing ; and 
after a sharp skirmish he retreated. Wetherall attacked St. Charles, 
defended by Brown, with fifteen hundred insurgents. The village was 
stormed, the palisades and fortified houses were set on fire, and the gar- 
rison driven off. The loss of the insurgents was about three hundred. 
The vindictive measures pursued towards this unfortunate garrison have 
cast a stigma upon Wetherall's memory. Soon after. Gore entered St. 
Denis without resistance; the popular leaders concealed themselves or 
fled to the United States, and the insurrection in this quarter was 
suppressed. 

The districts of Terrebonne and Two Mountains, north of Montreal, 
were still in arms. In December, Sir John Colborne, commander-in- 
chief of the Canadian army, marched with thirteen hundred troop? 
against St. Eustache. Four hundred insurgents threw themselves into 
a church, which they defended with desperate valour. They were finally 
disU»dged by the building being set on fire. At St. Benoit, the loyalists 



INSURRECTION AT ST. DENIS AND ST. CHARLES. 777 




NAVT ISLAND. 



burned the houses of the insurgents and committed other atrocities. Simi- 
lar proceedings took place at Toronto, and the neighbouring provinces. 

In Upper Canada, Mackenzie and other leaders endeavoured to erect 
that province into an independent nation. His attempt, on the 4th of 
December, to seize the government arms, failed. Three days after, his 
force of five hundred men was routed by a body of loyalists under 
McNab. Mackenzie fled to Buffalo, where he succeeded in organizing 
^ corps which took possession of Navy Island. After fortifying it with 
thirteen pieces of cannon, he issued a proclamation inviting volunteers 
from Canada and the United States About one thousand joined him, 
and he established a provisional government. It was at this period that 
President Van Buren issued his proclamation warning the citizens of 
this country of the consequences of joining the opposition to a friendly 
nation. The burning of the Caroline caused so much irritation upon 
the border, that the American government stationed there a small force 
under General Scott, to maintain order. 

From this time until November, 1 838, the spirit of rebellion slum- 
bered. On the 3d of that month, a concerted rising took place in all 
the southern counties of Montreal district. Sharp skirmishing took 
place on the frontier, during which an insurgent force under Dr. Nelson 
lost one hundred men, and, in about one week, apparent tranquillity 



778 



CANADA UNDER THE BRITISH, 



was restored. At Prescott, four hundred men. after a gallant resistance 
were captured or dispersed by a large British force. A number of the 
leaders were put to death, and the remainder condemned to ignominious 
punishments. 

Meantime, the news of the former insurrection had excited great sen- 
sation in England. When the House of Commons was about to rise 
for the Christmas holidays, a minister proposed that instead of post- 
poning the time of meeting, as usual, until February, they should meet 
on the 16th of January. At that time the constitution of the lower 
province was suspended, and a bill passed for forming a council, its 
members to be named by the queen, which, in conjunction with the 
government, might exercise the functions then performed by the two 
legislative bodies. Its powers were to terminate on the 1st of Novem- 
ber, 1840, and the validity of their enactments two years afterwards. 
The Earl of Durham, a mild and liberal statesman, was appointed go- 
vernor-general of Canada, with instructions to carry these measures into 
immediate eflPect. On his arrival at Quebec, (May 29, 1838,) he was 
cordially received by all parties. In his progress through the country, 
as far as Upper Canada, he met with similar expressions of confidence. 

This prospect of reconciliation was quickly clouded. Nelson, Bou- 
chette, Viger and other popular leaders, were in the Montreal jail, 
charged with high treason. Government considered it necessary that 
they should be visited by exemplary punishment. Yet an impartial 
jury could not be expected for their trial, which would besides inflame 
all the rancour and party animosity which it was his lordship's object 
to appease. In this dilemma he adopted a course that would enable 
him, as he hoped, to avoid both evils. After the prisoners had been 
induced to make a confession of their guilt, they were sentenced to be 
sent to Bermuda, and there kept in sti-ict surveillance. Should they at 
any time return to Canada without permission from the governor, they 
would be punishable by death. Papineau, and others who had escaped, 
received the same sentence. This measure produced much excitement 
in the British Parliament. Lord Brougham declared it illegal, as it 
condemned to death without trial, and to transportation to a colony 
which was not within the governor-generars jurisdiction. As the cir- 
cumstances of the case were, however, extraordinary, he proposed a vote 
of indemnity, in favour of the governor-general. Lord Durham's mea- 
sures were accordingly annulled. On receiving information of these 
acts, the governor-general, deeply mortified, publicly announced his in- 
tention to resign. He did not even follow the customary routine of re- 
qutsting permission from the crown, and waiting until he had received if 



EARL or DURHAM, GOV EE NOR. 



779 




T H O N T O. 



and in announcing the disallowance of his ordinance, he commented on 
the decision of Parliament with a severity which was considered irregu- 
lar, as it tended to compromise the royal authority. On the 1st of No 
vember, two days before the last-mentioned insurrection, he sailed from 
Quebec, and on the 26th landed at Plymouth. 

During the winter of 1838 and the ensuing summer, (1839,) the Ca^ 
nadian provinces were tolerably tranquil. Much interest was excited 
by the proposal for a union between Upper and Lower Canada — a mea- 
sure warmly recommended by Lord Durham. A proposition to that 
effect was before the British ministry in 1839, and the House of x\s- 
sembly in the upper province was favourably disposed toward it. But 
objections from other quarters caused its postponement for that year. 
A bill was passed to continue the extraordinary powers under which 
Sir John Colborne administered the affairs of the lower province ; and 
in the fall, Poulett Thompson was nominated to the important office of 
governor-general. Under this gentleman and his immediate successor, 
government adopted a system of conciliation, directed, of course, to the 
retaining of Canada as a province of the mother country. Several 
prominent patriots were admitted into the executive and legislative coun- 
cils, and even to the highest offices. Yet dissatisfaction, more or les^ 
general, still existed ; and the populace lost no opportunity of appro- 
priating the ad-antages of chance to their own purposes. 



780 



CANADA UNDER THE BRITISH. 



From this time until the year 1848, little of historical interest tran- 
spired in Canada. The country remained in an unsettled state, and in 
various quarters strong opposition was manifested from time to time, to 
the measures of the parent government. Some of the governors who 
succeeded Lord Durham rendered themselves odious by opposing popu- 
lar acts passed or recommended by the Assembly. To these difficulties 
was added the antipathy between the two principal elements of the 
population. The descendants of the original French settlers of Canada 
and those of the British settlers cannot coalesce. Differences of reli- 
gion, of manners, of ideas, of living, instead of disappearing, seem to 
increase yearly. The position of the governor is consequently a delicate 
one, frequently involving a sacrifice of the interest of one race to those 
of the other. This has been one principal cause of the failure of Bri- 
tish legislation to produce legislative and social concord in the province. 
This fact became strikingly apparent in 1848, when dissatisfaction per- 
vaded all Canada ; and in the following year, when this dissatisfaction 
resulted m the serious riots at Montreal and other places. 

Such was the popular feeling in the province, ^imn, under the governor- 
ship of Lord Elgin, the Canadian leaders formed tho British American 
League," which has been rendered memorable by the unexptjci«u events 
that occurred during its existence. Its objects were of a general nature 
— **to decide upon and publish (such was their language to the people) 
a declaration of their opinions, upon the commercial and political ques- 
tions of the day." The means to be employed for this purpose were 
expressed in a single word — ''organization." On the 19th of April, 1849, 
the League met at Montreal, to elect its officers, and frame an address 
to the people of Canada. In this paper, after mentioning the "com- 
mercial distress and general depression in every department of industry," 
and disclaiming all intention to propose remedial measures, the League 
enumerated several causes of the national difficulties. " The diversity 
of national origin, in itself so potent an impediment to progress ; the 
system of representation ; the tenure of lands in the lower province ; 
the composition of the legislative council, and many other topics of far 
too great importance to be approached without caution or touched with- 
out dispassionate inquiry by the people at large — all point to the neces- 
sity of concentrating and asserting public opinion upon such matters." 
The address led to a warm discussion, during which the most liberal 
opinions on the subject of dissolving the connection with Great Britair 
were openly broached. Meanwhile, the people loudly complained of 
grievances, and one or two papers openly advocated secession from G-reat 
Britain and annexation to the United States. Exciting debates took 



LORD ELGIN, GOVERNOR. 



781 



place in tlit Assembly. New names were added daily to the jst of the 
League 

This was the state of affairs when a rumor became general that Lord 
Elgin would sanction a measure known as the ''Rebellion Losses Bill." 
It provided for indemnifying those who had sustained losses through 
the insurrections of the province — among whom, through a singular 
oversight of legislation, were several who had been outlawed by Lord 
Durham, for participating in the commotions for which indemnity was 
to be granted. The former loyalist party were greatly incensed. Mobs 
collected in various quarters, anxiously inquiring the news. On the 
afternoon of April 25, the governor repaired to the council-chamber, 
where he signed forty-eight bills. The '' Hebellion Bill" was one of 
them. Reports of this proceeding spread so rapidly, that before Lord 
Elgin left the chamber, fifteen hundred persons had surrounded it. On 
entering his carriage, the governor was pelted with stones and other 
missiles. In one hour, all Montreal was in commotion. While alarm 
bells were ringing, men passed through the streets crying aloud that a 
popular meeting would take place that evening at the Champs de Mars. 
Five thousand people assembled. Resolutions of a most decided charac- 
ter were passed. One speaker mounted a chair, and with a loud voice 
announced '' We have passed resolutions enough — they have been dis- 
regarded. The time for action has arrived. Deafening cheers inter- 
rupted him. " To the Parliament-house," shouted the orator. The 
words were echoed amid tremendous uproar, and with lighted torches 
dancing over their heads in every direction, the masses moved at a fu- 
rious pace toward the legislative chamber. At ten o'clock eight thousand 
persons were in front of the legislative buildings. The Assembly was in 
full session, having their hall brilliantly lighted. A loud crash announced 
to the members their danger, and the glass panes were dashed in 
by thick showers of stones which poured through the windows. The 
terrified Assembly rose and rushed together into the lobby. The- next 
moment, one hundred men, completely armed, entered the hall. One 
of them took possession of the speaker's chair, another carried away the 
mace. Others chopped to pieces the furniture. Some cried fire. The 
members, clerks, and ladies, led by Colonel Gugy, collected in a body, 
and rushing through the hall, escaped at the principal door. The build- 
ings were discovered to be on fire. In fifteen minutes the Assembly 
hall was in flames ; by midnight the whole was one mass of ruins. Out- 
side, an immense mob gazed upon the spectacle in stupid wonder. The 
troops had now arrived in considerable numbers. They were enthu- 
siastically cheered, but could do nothing tc arrest the flames. All the 



782 



CANADA UNDER THE BRITISH. 



public records and documents, the recent bills, and the public library, 
were consumed with the buildings. The loss of the books, an immense 
collection, on the early history of the province, was irreparable. A 
picture of the Queen was destroyed in the streets. Before morning the 
mob had dispersed. 

Next day, four of the popular leaders were arrested on a charge of 
ars(>;i. Three thousand persons followed them to the prison, and great 
excitement prevailed ; but the " liberal" chiefs exerted themselves suc- 
cessfully to prevent an outbreak. Troops continued to arrive through- 
out the day, but seem to have made no efforts to prevent the assembling 
of large concourses of people. Several houses of obnoxious persons 
were attacked, and another meeting was called to deliberate upon the 
condition of the province. It voted a petition to the queen, demanding 
the immediate recall of Lord Elgin. The governor imprudently armed 
five hundred young Frenchmen, and placed them among his escort, 
thus augmenting the irritation of the "British party," as the more nu- 
merous portion of the people styled themselves. The escort, known as 
"Lord Elgin's guiwd," were hooted and threatened; and the governor 
burned in effigy. The popular leaders exerted themselves to arrest this 
dangerous tendency toward rioting ; and by the 1st of May, order had 
been restored throughout the provinces. On the 10th, fresh disturb- 
ances occurred at Montreal. While the governor-general, with the minis- 
try, and a large number of radical members, were at a dinner given at 
Tiius's hotel, five hundred men surrounded the building, and demanded 
an entrance. A scuffle ensued, during which shots were fired from the 
hot€l, and several of the people were wounded. The affair terminated, 
however, without any event more serious. 

-■^^HE more recent history of Canada has been 
marked by political quiet and a rapid material 
advancement. There was a period, after the popu- 
lar disturbances above narrated, when the idea of 
annexation to the L^nited States was publicly dis- 
cussed in certain quarters, and gained a number of 
but the sentiment was of but biief duration, and 
never, indeed, was extensively entertained. The judicious and 
conciliatory treatment of the Home Government was sufficient 
to restore perfect loyalty of feeling on the part of the colony. 
The two districts, Upper Canada (or Canada West) and Lower Canada 
(or Canada East), after remaining separate governments for some years, 
were again united ; and, under a succession of able governors, and the 
'iberal measures of reform and progress introduced, have gone on in a 




PROSPEKITY OF CANADA. 



783 



career of prosperous development. The local legislature, or Provin- 
cial Parliament, is composed of a Legislative Council of forty-four 
members, selected by the crown, and retaining office for life, and a 
Legislative Assembly, consisting of one hundred and thirty members, 
who are chosen by the people. Its legislation must receive the sanc- 
tion of the crown, before becoming of binding efficacy; and this au- 
thority is vested in the Governor-General, who may also reserve bills 
for reference to the Home Government. Of late years, the exclusive 
control of the Post-Office, the Revenue, and other leading matters, has 
been granted to the colonial government ; and, generally, the province 
may be regarded as being, in every essential, an independent govern- 
ment, having its executive, legislative, and judicial departments mod- 
elled after the mother country, and managing its affairs in its own 
way. A very liberal ft-anchise exists, so that the ballot box is nearly 
as free as in the United States. The executive consists of a o-overnor- 
ger.ora], e'.ppoiiited by iLe crown, and a council appointed by the gov- 
ernor; the members of the latter being selected from the Legislature, 
directing the different departments, and, like the British ministry, 
holding office only so long as they are supported by a Parliamentarv 
majority. 

The advancement of Canada, in all that makes a prosperous and 
powerful state, has, as we have remarked, been rapid and extensive for 
the past few years. Its population has more than doubled since 1840, 
and has attained to nearly three millions. In agriculture, manufac- 
tures, and productive industry generally, decided progress has been 
made. Numerous canals, railroads, and other works of internal im- 
provement, have been perfected, requiring the expenditure of large 
amounts of money. In 1859 there were over fifteen hundred miles 
of raih'oad completed in the province. Its commerce also has expe- 
rienced a great increase, the exports running up from £2,669,998 in 
1850, to a value of £5,950,325 in 1855, and yearly increasing since. 
A prominent cause of this commercial increase was the adoption of 
the Reciprocity Treaty between the United States ana Great Britain, 
in 1854. By this treaty, the British colonies were permitted to enter 
upon a system of free trade, in many important articles, with the 
American States; and a mutual free interchange of productions has 
led to a largely extended commerce, resulting in marked benefit to 
Canada. More land is yearly being brought under cultivation, its 
towns are advancing in prosperity, increased business is furnished for 
its railroads, and its tonnage shows a yearly growing importance. In 
addition to its ordinary shipping, important steam communications 



784 



CANADA UIS'DEK UHE B±tlTlSH. 



huN e been established, and powertul screw steamers connect its cbief 
cities with Liverpool and other ports of Europe. 

With this material growth, the progress in educational and religious 
matters has quite corresponded. In short, Canada, with its intelligent 
and enterprising population, its healthy climate, its developed pros- 
perity, and its area of over three hundred and fifty thousand square 
miles, including boundless resources, is the most magnificent colonial 
possession of the British crown, and, in reality, an empire in itselH 



SOUTH AMERICA. 




THE ARGEOTmE COISTFEDEEATIOI^. 

HE thirteen provinces of the Rio de la Plata, which 
constitute the Argentine Confederation, comprehend 
a large part of the surface of South America. The 
river Rio Negro has been fixed as their southern 
boundary ; the mouth of this river is near latitude 
41 ° S. The parallel of 22° S. lat. chiefly constitutes 
the northern boundary line. On the west, they are divided by 
the Andes from Chili and Bolivia, and on the east separated 
from Paraguay by the river Paraguay, and from Brazil and Uru- 
guay by I he river Uruguay. The area of the Confederation is 
estimated at seven hundred and eighty-six thousand square miles, and 
tiif population at something less than one million. 

Though Amerigo Vespucci sailed along the coast before the end of 
the 15th century, it does not appear that he observed the wide estu- 
ary of the Rio de la Plata. It was discovered by Juan Diaz de Soils, 
who was sent to these parts in 1512 by the Spanish government, and 
he took possession of it, but did not form a settlement. 

Sebastian Cabot was sent from Spain, in 1530, to make discoveries 
in South America. He traversed the La Plata, and following the 
course of the Rio Parana to its confluence with the Paraguay, sailed 
np the first-mentioned river, but being prevented from proceeding far 
shoals and cataracts, he entered the Paraguay, which he ascended 

785 



786 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



to a point above the place where Asuncion is situated. He built also 
a small fort at the place where the Rio Tercero, or rather the Carcara- 
nal joins the Paran4 (32° 30' S. lat.,) which he called Santo Spiritu, 
which however was destroyed by the Indians soon after his departure. 
The favorable account that he gave of the country called Paraguay, 
induced the Spaniards to send a considerable force to these parts un- 
der the Adelantado Don Pedro de Mcndoza, in 1534, who built a fort 
near the spot on which the town of Buenos Ayres now stands ; and 
lie then sailed to Paraguay to found the town of Asuncion. The fort 
was soon destroyed by the Indians. The Spaniards concentrated their 
forces in Paraguay, and from thence they gradually began to establish 
their settlements over the country. 

In 1573, Don Juan de Garay founded the town of Santa Fe. In 
the mean time other Spaniards, who for some time before had held un- 
disturbed possession of Alto Peru, or the present republic of Bolida, 
advanced southward, passed the A bra de Coitaderas, and founded 
Salta, Tucuraan, and Cordova, about the same time that Garay built 
Santa Fe. The town of Buenos Ayres was founded by Garay in 1580. 
He built a fort aufiBciently strong to repel the attacks of the Indians. 
All the countries thus conquered were joined to the viceroyalty of 
Peru, of which they formed a portion until 1777, when Buenos Ayres 
was divided from it, and constituted a separate viceroyalty. 
^^^ff^^j:^'^ 1805 the town of Buenos Ayres was taken by the 
(4£ >tSB British, but they were soon expelled. In 1807 the city 
was again unsuccessfully attacked by a British force under 
General Whitelocke, who on his return to England was 
tried by court-martial for incapacity, and cashiered. The 
iuhabitants of the Argentine Confederation, like those of the 
pother Spanish colonies, did not submit to the authority of Jo- 
seph Bonaparte, and in 1810 they organized an independent 
government in the name of king Ferdinand YH. The loyalty 
of the leading men who had assumed power was however from 
the first of a doubtful character. The form of government was fre- 
quently changed : Buenos Ayres, on the one band endeavoring to se- 
cure its supremacv, while the other provinces sought to obtain a na- 
tional government with equal rights for the several provinces. From 
1813 to 1816 the Sovereign Assembly had the chief power, and its 
raeetino-s were held at Tucuman, which was the seat of orovernment 
On the dissolution of this l^ody in April, IS 16, a General Congress 
was called, which, on July 9th, declared the independence of the 
United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata." General Puyerredon was 



THE ARGENTINE CONFEDERATION. 



787 



named "Supreme Director," an office which lasted till 1S20. For the 
next four years the provinces remained in an isolated position, when 
another General Congress was called, which, after long discussions, pro- 
mulgated in 1826 a constitution, the 7th article of which declared that 
"the Argentine nation adopts for its government the republican rep- 
resentative form, consolidated in a unity of representation." This, 
known as the Unitarian Constitution, lasted a very short time. The 
several provinces ^\ithhelc] their approval, civil war again raged, in 
1827 the Congress was dissolved, and the provinces returned to their 
state of isolation. Meanwhile war had been declared between the re- 
public and Brazil, and Buenos Ayres was blockaded by a Brazilian 
fleet from Jamiary, 1826, to October, 1828, when the blockade was 
put an end to by British intervention. 

In January, 1831, the provinces of Buenos Ayres, Entre Pdos, Cor- 
rientes, and Santa Fe entered into a federal compact, to which all the 
other provinces at subsequent periods became parties. The union was 
a voluntary alliance. No general constitution was promulgated, and 
the adhesion of the several members was left to be secured by the re- 
sources of the person who might obtain the direction of affairs. This 
Argentine Confederation, like the republic which it had succeeded, soon 
fell into a state of anarchy, and it was not till the election of General 
Rosas as Governor or captain-general, with almost absolute power, in 
1835, that even temporary quiet was secured. By this arrangement 
the provincial government of Buenos x\yres was invested with extra- 
ordinary powers, and temporarily charged with the transaction of all 
matters appertaining to the common interests of the Confederation, 
and the carrying out of its business with foreign nations. Rosas had 
previously served as Governor and captain-general for Buenos Ayres 
for the usual term of three years, and had obtained unrivalled influence 
in that province, chiefly through his military prowess, as displayed 
against the Indians. His decision and energy secured for awhile in- 
ternal peace, and the provinces began to recover from the effects of 
the long prevalent anarchy. But cruelty and despotism marked his 
sway at home, and his ambition, which constantly prompted him to 
endeavor to extend his power over the whole country watered by the 
Plata and the Parand, led him into disputes with foreign powers-: and 
these ultimately brought about his downfall. His commercial policy 
had for its object to secure to Buenos Ayres the monopoly of the 
trade of the Plata — his political policy to obtain a like territorial su- 
periority. On the death of Francia, dictator of Paraguay, he refused 
to acknowledge the independence of that power, insisting that it 



788 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



should join the Argentine Confederation, at the same time he refused 
to allow the navigation of the Parana by vessels bound to Paraguay. 
Lopez, the new dictator of Paraguay, therefore entered into alliance 
with the Banda Oriental, now called Uruguay, with which Ptosas was 
at war. These powers applied for assistance to Brazil. The war was 
prolonged until the whole country on both sides of the Plata and Pa- 
rana was in a state of confusion. On the earnest appeal of the mer- 
chants and others interested, Great Britain volunteered her mediation, 
but it was rejected by Rosas, who marched his troops within a few 
miles of Monte Video, which his fleet at the same time blockaded. 
The emperor of Brazil now interfered, and sent a special mission to 
request the interposition of the courts of London and Paris. The 
British and French governments, in February, 1845, decided on send- 
ing plenipotentiaries to the Plata, to offer their mediation, and to an- 
nounce their intention to enforce a cessation of hostilities, if needful, 
by an armed intervention. The offer was rejected by Rosas, but readi- 
ly accepted by his opponents. The united fleets of England and 
France at once commenced operations by seizing the fleet of Rosas, 
which was blockading Monte Video, and the island of Martin Garcia, 
which commands the entrances of the Parana and the Uruguay. The 
harbor of Buenos Ayres was at the same time declared under block- 
ade, and the combined fleet prepared to open the Parana, and convoy 
as far as Corrientes any merchant vessels that might desire to ascend 
that river. Rosas on his part made hasty preparations to intercept the 
fleet by planting batteries with parks of heavy artillery at Point Obli- 
gado, and placing three strong chains across the river, supported by 
twenty-four vessels and ten fire-ships. On the 19th of November, 
1845, the combined fleet, consisting of eight sailing and three steam ves 
sels, forced the passage with trifling loss to itself, but entirely destroy- 
ino- the batteries and considerably injuring the army of Rosas. On 
the return of the fleet, with a convoy of one hundred and ten vessels, 
it was encountered at San Lorenzo by a very powerful battery, w^hich 
Rosas had erected in an admirable position, in the full expectation of 
destroying a large number of the merchant vessels, and of crippling 
the naval force. The battery commanded the river, and was difficult 
of attack by the steamers, but it was speedily silenced by a rocket- 
brigade, which bad been the previous night secretly landed on a small 
island in the river. The combined fleet escaped with trifling loss. 
The loss to the Argentine army was very great. Again plenipoten- 
tiaries were sent out by the combined powers, but Rosas refused to 
yield; and England withdrew from the blockade in July, 1848. It 



THE ARGEOTINE CONFEDERATION. 



789 



was, however, continued by France until January, 1849. On the final 
withdrawal of the two great powers in 1850, Brazil determined on ac- 
tive interference. The power of Rosas, essentially despotic, and de- 
voted to the maintenance of the supremacy of Buenos Ayres, had 
moreover become intolerable to the provinces, which desired a federal 
and equal union. Accordingly, toward the close of 1850, Brazil, Uru- 
guay, and Paraguay entered into a treaty, to which Corrientes and 
Entre Rios, as represented by General TJrquiza, became parties, by 
which they bound themselves to continue hostilities until they had 
effected the deposition of Rosas, "whose power and tyranny" they 
declared to be " incompatible with the peace and happiness of this part 
of the world." Early in the spring of 1851 a Brazilian fleet blockaded 
Buenos Ayres, and soon after an Argentine force, commanded by TJr- 
quiza, crossed the Uruguay. The struggle was now virtually termi- 
nated. General Oribe, who commanded the army of Rosas in Monte 
Video, made a show of resistance, but it was merely to gain time in 
oraer to complete his arrangements with Urquiza, and he soon after 
capitulated. His soldiers for the most part joined the army of Ur- 
quiza, who, at the head of a force amounting it is said to Y0,000 
men, crossed into Buenos Ayres. A general engagement was fought 
on the plains of Moron, February 2d, 1851, when the army of R' sas 
was entirely defeated. Rosas, who had commanded in person, suc- 
ceeded in escaping from the field ; and, in the dress of a peasant, he 
reached in safety the house of the British minister at Buenos Ayi ^s. 
From thence, with his daughter, he proceeded on board H. M.'*) 
steamer Locust, and on the 10th of February sailed in the Conflio' 
steamer for England. 

UT the fall of the tyrant did not bring peace to the 
unhappy country. Urquiza, by the governors of the 
provinces assembled at San Nicolas, was invested 
with the chief power, and appointed Provisional Di- 
rector of the Argentine Confederation. The Cham- 
ber of Representatives of Buenos Ayres, however, declared 
against him, and protested against the proceedings of the 
kconvention, on the ground of the superior privileges of Buenc 
'Ayres being menaced. Urquiza dissolved the Chamber, ar*' 
insurrection broke out. Civil war, with all its aggravated evi.V 
continued. February, 1853, Buenos Ayres was in a state of siege. 

The condition of the country in the few years following has be .n 
one of comparative quiet. The province of Buenos Ayres, however, 
:ontinued, as late as 1859, its independent position, and Urquiza, it 




790 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



was rumored, was about engaging in another attempt for its snOj iga 
tion. 

BOLIYIA. 

The republic of Bolivia was formerly called Upper Peru, and formed 
a portion of the viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres. Being separated from 
the more populous parts of Buenos Ayres by tlie desert of CLaco and 
a very rugged and dreary mountain region, it had little in common 
with that state, and it consequently soon separated from it after the 
subversion of the Spanish authority. The republic declared itself in- 
dependent on the 6th of August, 1824, and assumed the name of 
Bolivia in honor of General Bolivar, on August 11th, 1825. 

The northern boundary of Bolivia is formed by the parallel 10° S. lat. 
from the river Purus on the west, to the peninsula formed by the con- 
fluence of the rivers Sarare and Mamore, thence called the Madeira, 
on the east. The most southern point is on the shores of the Pacific 
at the Bahia de Nuestra Senora, about 25° S. lat. The most eastern 
part i? contiguous to the river Paraguay, where, after leaving Brazil, it 
forins for some space the boundary between Bolivia and Paraguay, and 
extends to 57° 30' W. long. The most western portion of the repub- 
lic borders on the Pacific at Punta del Norte, about 70° 30' W. long. 
Bolivia is bounded on the west for about 250 miles by the Pacific 
Ocean ; the remainder of its western and north-western frontier is 
formed by the republic of Peru. It borders on the north-east and 
east on the empire of Brazil, except the most south-eastern corner, 
where it joins Paraguay. To the south of it extends the republic of 
Buenos Ayres, and where it approaches the Pacific that of Chili. It 
contains an area of 473,298 square miles, and is divided into seven de- 
partments and two provinces, with a population of about a million and 
half. In 1825, when Buenos Ayres had renounced its claim on Upper 
Peru, and the representatives of the country determined to form an 
independent state, they adopted a constitution proposed by Bolivar, 
according to which the executive power was to be placed in the 
hands of a president chosen for life, and the legislative was to consist 
of three bodies, the senate, the tribunes, and the censors. At the 
same time Bolivar was chosen president. In the following year a suc- 
cessful revolution occurred, and Bolivar's constitution was superseded. 
Since then there have been numerous changes, sometimes merely of 
dictators, but at others in the forms of government. The years 1847, 
1848, and 1849 were consumed in civil war; and the country has bceo 



BKAZIL. 



791 



ever since in a more or less unsettled state. The legisl itive power is^ 
however, still, at least nominally, vested in three bodies, the executive 
being in the hands of an elective president. J. M. Linares held the 
office of President in 1859. 

BEAZIL. 

The empire of Brazil embraces an area of 3,956,800 square miles, 
or considerably more than half of South America. It has an Atlantic 
sea-coast of about 3,700 miles, extending from 5° N. lat. to 32° 30' 
S. lat., and its greatest diameter, in lat. 8° 21' S. is 2,630 miles. It 
is divided into twenty-one provinces, and the population is estimated 
at about seven millions. 

Brazil was discovered in the first year of the sixteenth century. The 
voyages of Columbus and Vasco de Gama, who first sailed across ex- 
tensive seas, had taught navigators to adopt the practice of entering 
at once upon the open ocean. Accordingly Pedro Alvares de Cabral, 
who after the return of Vasco de Gama was sent by the king of Por- 
tugal with a large navy to the East Indies, directed his course from 
the Cape Verde Islands to the south-west, and was carried by the 
equatorial current so far to the west that he found himself very unex- 
pectedly in sight of land in 10° S. lat. This country was Brazil, which 
he saw first on the 3d of May, 1500. He sailed along the coast as far 
as Porto Seguro (16° S. lat.), where he landed and took possession. 
He sent an account of his discovery to Lisbon, and continued his 
voyage to India. The king afterward sent Amerigo Vespucci, a Flor- 
entine, to examine the country, who took a rapid survey of nearly the 
whole of its shores, and upon his return published an account of it, 
w ith a map". To this publication this navigator is indebted for the 
honor of having given his Christian name to the new continent. 

[""s-^^^^T ESPUCCI, and others who were sent somewhat later, 
ioliP reported that the country was not cultivated, and did 
^l^^r not off"er any great commercial advantages, but that 
B^^i/ they had found extensive forests of Brazil-wood, of 
k^^^ which they brought some cargoes to Portugal. This 
was not sufficient to induce the Portuguese to form a settle- 
ment, especially as they were then actively engaged in their 
conquests in the East Indies ; but it was quite enough to 
induce mercantile speculators to send their vessels for the 
dye-wood. This trade continued for some years, and the 
ro >^chants of other nations, especially the French, began to follow the 




792 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



example of tlie Portuguese. The Portuguese government considered 
this as a violation of their rights as discoverers of the country, and 
they accordingly began to think of forming a permanent establiiib- 
men^ King John III., however, on calculating the expenses neces- 
sary for such an undertaking, thought it more advantageous to invest 
some of the richest noble families of Portugal with the property of 
extensive tracts of coast, for the purpose of colonizing them with Por- 
tuguese subjects. Accordingly, about ten or twelve Portuguese noble- 
men obtained the property each of about 100 leagues of coast, and 40 
or 50 leagues inland. These proprietors were called donotarios. Most 
of them made great sacrifices, and underwent much fatigue and dan- 
ger in forming settlements in Brazil. The towns of S. Vincent, Es- 
pirito Santo, Porto Seguro, and Pernambuco were founded by them 
between 1531 and 1545. But it soon became evident that the private 
fortune of these noblemen was not adequate to the establishment of 
such settlements in an uncultivated country, and in the neighborliood 
of warlike savage nations. The king therefore sent, in 1549, as gov- 
ernor, to Brazil, Thome de Sousa, who fjounded the town of Bahia, m 
the bay of Todos os Santos, and established a regular colonial admin- 
istration. The government gradually found means to acquire the prop- 
erty of the colonies then existing from the donotarios, either by pur- 
chase or by exchange. 

Before the religious divisions in England began to people the coasts 
of North America, the Protestants of France made a similar attempt 
in Brazil. A colony of French Protestants was established in 1555, 
on an island in the bay of Rio Janeiro, by Nicolas Durand de Ville- 
gagnon, but it soon fell into anarchy. The Portuguese attacked it in 
1565, and expelled the French, though not without encountering con- 
siderable resistance. On this occasion the town of Rio Janeiro was 
bounded by the Portuguese. 

On the death of King Sebastian, when Portugal was united to Spain 
(1580), the numerous enemies of the latter country began to annoy 
Brazil, among whom the English, under Thomas Cavendish, were the 
most active. They did not however form any settlement. The French 
made a second attempt in 1612 to settle on the island of Maranhao^ 
where they founded the town of San Luiz de Maranhao, but in 1615 
they were compelled to abandon it to the Portuguese. The Dutch 
were more formidable enemies to the Portuguese. Their East India 
Company had already taken from them many settlements in the Indian 
seas, and their West India Company was thus invited to similar at 
tempts in America. In 1623 they sent a fleet to Brazil, which toob 



BRAZIL. 



Bahia, then the capital of the country; but it was lost again in 1625, 
In 1629 the Dutch made another attempt, and possessed themselves 
of Pernambuco, from which the Portuguese were unable to dislodge 
them* They afterward extended their conquests till they held, in 
1643, the province of Seregipe anc/ the whole of Brazil north of the 
Rio Francesco, with the exception of Para. A few years later, how- 
ever, the settlers of Portuguese origin rose upon them and drove them 
out of province after province, till at last the Dutch were confined to 
the town of Pernambuco, from which also they were expelled in 1654. 
By the peace of 1660 the Dutch renounced their claims on these 
countries. 

At that time the mineral riches of Brazil were not known. The 
town of S. Paulo had been founded by some Portuguese in 1620, who 
had ascended to the table-land of the Parana from the town of St. 
Vincent, and been induced to settle there on account of its fine 
climate. The adventurers established a kind of democratic govern- 
ment, and made frequent incursions among the savage nations for the 
purpose of capturing them and using them as slaves. In these excur- 
sions, toward the end of the iVth century, they discovered the mines 
of S. Paulo; and near Sahara, on the Rio des Velhas, in 1700, the 
richer mines at Villa Rica; and in 1713 those of Marianna. The 
mines at Cuyaba and Goyaz were discovered between 1715 and 1720. 
The existence of diamonds in the Rio Jequitinhonha was not known 
before 1728. These discoveries, and the riches which government 
derived from the mines, induced it to remove the administration of the 
colony from Bahia to Rio S. Janeiro in 1773. 

The government of Brazil by the Portuguese was of the most exclu- 
sive character, and led to a constantly growing dissatisfaction on the 
part of the bulk of the inhabitants. Foreign vessels were not permitted 
to enter the ports of Brazil, nor the Brazilians to send their com- 
modities to any other country than Portugal. This of course caused 
discontent among the merchants. Further, the natives of Portugal 
who had emigrated to the colony constituted a privileged class, being 
exclusively entitled to all posts of honor and all lucrative employments 
under government, which naturally excited dissatisfaction among the 
rich descendants of the Portuguese. This dissatisfaction began to 
generate a wish for change as soon as the United States of North 
America had obtained their independence ; and events in Europe took 
such a turn that Brazil obtained its object almost without bloodshed 
or war. When Bonaparte had formed his scheme for taking posses- 
sion of the Peninsula, he began by declaring war against Portugal, 



794 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



upon which the roynl family left Europe for Brazil, where they arrived 
22(1 January, 1808. Considering Brazil as the principal part of his 
reniaining doniinions, King John VI. began to improve its condition 
by placing the administration on a more regular footing, and throwing 
open its ports to all nations. On the fall of Bonaparte, the king raised 
Brazil to the rank of a kingdom, and assumed the title of King of 
Portugal, Algarve, and Brazil. The royal family remained in Brazil 
until the king was obliged to return to Europe by the revolution which 
took place in Portugal in 1820, by which the constitution of Spain had 
been adopted in that kingdom also. The news of that event had 
hardly reached Brazil when the same constitution was proclaimed by 
the inhabitants in the town of Pernambuco, and soon afterward in 
Bahia and Para. It was feared that similar measures would be taken 
in Rio Janeiro, and accordingly the king found it expedient to pro- 
claim the constitution himself on the 26th February, 1821, S(^on after 
which he sailed for Lisbon, leaving at the head of the administration 
in Brazil, Pedro his eldest son and successor, as lieutenant and regent. 
The Cortes of Portugal did not conceal their design of restoring the 
old relations with Brazil, by which its commerce was restricted to the 
mother country ; and they did not treat the deputies from Brazil quite 
as well as they should have done. This, of course, increased the dis- 
content of the Brazilians, and prepared the way for the independence 
of that country. 

The Cortes in Portugal continued their course of policy. They 
formed a scheme for a new organization of the administration in 
Brazil, and recalled the Prince Regent. But the prince, induced by 
the representations of the Brazilians, refused to obey their orders, and 
sent the Portuguese troops stationed at Pernambuco and Rio Janeiro 
to Europe. The Portuguese commandant of Bahia, howevei, did not 
yield; he expelled the militia and remained master of the town. This 
step was decisive, and immediately followed by others. On the 13th 
of May the Prince Regent was proclaimed protector and perpetual de- 
fender of Brazil. The General Procurators (Procuradores geraes) of the 
provinces were assembled by the Prince Regent to consult on the new 
form of government, but they declared that they were not competent 
to such a task, and proposed the convocation of deputies chosen by 
the people, to which the prince acceded after a short delay. As the 
Cortes in Portugal still persisted in their design, it was thought neces- 
sary to declare the independence of Brazil, and the Prince Regent did 
not venture to oppose the torrent of public opinion. Accordingly on 
the 12th of October, 1822, Brazil was declared an independent state, 



BRAZIL. 



795 



nricl the prince adopted the title of Emperor of Brazil; on the 1st of 
December he was crowned. 

As this step might be considered a declaration of war against Por- 
tugal, preparations for hostilities were immediately made. The Por- 
tuguese troops still occupied the towns of Bahia, Maranhao, and Par4. 
Bahia was besieged by the Brazilian forces, and after a few weeks the 
garrison was obliged to abandon it, upon the appearance of the admiral 
of Brazil, Lord Cochrane, before the harbor. The admiral also com- 
pelled the garrisons of Maranhao and Para to sail for Europe. Thus 
the independence of Brazil was established, with no other loss of blood 
than what took place in the town of Bahia. 

A General Assembly of deputies from the provinces was called to 
consider the draft of a constitution, but as they refused to frame one 
to which the emperor would agree, he dissolved them in November, 
1823, and a few days after published a constitution, which, as already 
stated, was accepted and confirmed by the new Geneial Assembly 
convoked in the early part of 1824. The independence of Brazil was 
acknowledged by Portugal in 1825. 

In 1826 two events took place which gave rise to great discontent, 
the death of King John VI., and the war with Buenos Ayres, for the 
retention of Monte Video as a part of the Brazilian empire. By the 
decease of the king, Portugal devolved on the Emperor of Brazil, and 
the Brazilians again apprehended that they might be placed in a state 
of dependence on that country. To remove such fears Pedro declared 
his daughter Maria Queen of Portugal, intending to marry her to his 
brother Miguel. Peace was concluded with Buenos Ayres in 1828, 
and Monte Video became the independent republic of Uruguay. But 
the internal peace of the country was not re-established. Frequent 
disputes arose between the Chamber of Deputies and the emperor, and 
sometimes great disturbances occurred in Rio Janeiro. In the spring 
of 1831, one of these disputes assumed a form of more than common 
seriousness, in consequence of the emperor refusing to dismiss some 
unpopular ministers. On the 6th of April a tumultuous populace hav- 
ing assembled before the palace, the emperor ordered the military to 
disperse them. This they refused to do, and the emperor issued a 
proclamation by which he abdicated the throne in favor of his son, 
Pedro IL, the present emperor. 

At this time the young emperor was only in his sixth year. The 
Chamber of Deputies at once took a more decided lead in the govern- 
ment. They nppointed a regency of three persons; and fixed the ter- 
mination of the emperor's minority on his reaching the age of 18 



796 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



years. Disturbances and revolutionary movements broke out succes- 
sively in various parts of the empire during several following years. 
Most of them, however, were directed against the power of the Cham- 
ber of Deputies, which was regarded with general distrust. The 
regency was in 1831 limited to one person. In 1841 the desire for 
the termination of the regency, which had been long growing, found 
vent in a popular rising, which the government was unable to resist; 
and on the 23d of July, the young emperor, then only in his fifteenth 
year, was declared by the assembly to have attained his majority and 
to the lull exercise of his constitutional prerogatives. Since that time 
there have been various outbreaks in different parts of the empire, 
some directed against the provincial governments, some with a view to 
erect one or other of the provinces into a republic, and some directed 
against the measures or the ministers of the imperial government; but 
on the whole Brazil has, during the last few years, had more internal 
tranquillity, and consequently been more prosperous, than any other of 
the states of South America. The most important of the foreign dif- 
ferences in which Brazil has been engaged was the long protracted 
war with Buenos Ay res, which led, in 1851, to the fall of Rosas, and 
eventually to the opening of the Rio Parana. 

The government of Brazil is a constitutional monarchy, with a re- 
sponsible ministry, and a legislature consisting of a Senate and a 
Chamber of Deputies. The members of both are chosen by the prov- 
inces ; the senators for life, and the deputies for a temporary period. 
The former consisted, in 1859, of 55 members, and the latter of 112. 
Brazil, next to the United States, is the most powerful and prosperous 
country of America. 

CHILL 

HE republic of Chili is a narrow strip of country, 
lying on the Pacific shores of South America, be 
tween 25° and 42° S. lat. It contains an area of 
249,952 square miles, and is divided into thirteen 
provinces, with a population of less than a million 
and a half. 

This country was subjugated in 1450 by the Peruvians, who 
retained possession of it till they were driven out by the 
Spaniards, under Almagro, in 1535. The Spaniards were 
driven out by a general rising of the natives three years after- 
warJT Pizarro attempted to colonize the country in 1540, and tLough 
opposed by the natives of Copiapo, he succeeded in conquerins; several 




CHILI. 



797 



provinces, and founded tlie city of Santiago, February, 1541. In at- 
tempting to extend his conquest he exposed his settlement, for six 
years, to the strong and repeated attacks of the Mapochians, in whose 
district Santiago was. His lieutenant, Pedro de Valdivia, to whom 
this extension was entrusted, made the Promancians his allies, and, 
surmounting various attacks and oppositions from the natives, founded 
the cities of Concepcion, Imperial, and Valdivia. He was shortly af- 
terward defeated by his old enemies, the Araucanians, who took him 
prisoner, and he was at length dispatched by an old chief with the 
blow of a club. 

These Araucanians kept the new colonies for several years in a con- 
tinual state of alarm and distress; and so far succeeded in avenging 
their former defeats, as in 1598 to capture Vallansa, Valdivia, Impe- 
rial, and other towns, and form the cities of Concepcion and Chillar. 
Nor were these the only losses sustained by the Spaniards. The 
Dutch plundered Chiloe, and massacred the garrison. The feuds be- 
tween the Araucanians and Spaniards were settled by a treaty of peace 
in 1641, which lasted for fourteen years ; then came a war of ten years, 
and another peace. In 1722 a conspiracy for the extirpation of the 
whites was happily frustrated. The colonists were gathered into towns, 
the country divided into provinces, and several new cities founded by 
the governor, Don Josef Manto, 1742. A similar attempt by Don 
Antonia Gonzaga, in respect of the Araucanians, relighted the torch of 
war, which blazed three years, when harmony was restored. Nor 
does any thing of particular moment occur in the history of Chili till 
1809: then a successful revolutionary movement took place, and for 
four or five years fortune favored the cause of independence ; but in 
1814, a royalist party from Peru nearly extinguished the flame of 
liberty. Success (in 1817) returned with General San Martin, who 
brought them freedom. D. Bernado O'Higgins was made director of 
the junta ; and a fatal blow was struck at the power of the royalists on 
the 5th of April, 1818, when a large tract of coast was declared in a 
state of blockade by the Chilian navy, under Lord Cochrane. In 1820, 
as stated in the history of Peru, the Chilian army, under San Martin, 
liberated Peru from the Spanish thraldom, and San Martin retired into 
the ranks of private life in Chili. His example was followed by 
O'Higgins, who resigned the dictatorship, January 28, 1823, and was 
succeeded by General Freire, the commander-in-chief. The royalist 
flag, which was hoisted in September, near the city of Concepcion^ 
was pulled down after a short period, and a free constitution ap- 
pointed, with a popular government. 



798 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



Since the establishment of the constitution, which was proclaimed 
in 1830, there have been frequent conflicts between political parties, 
but the coiintry has, on the whole, been more peaceable than most of 
the other South American states, and not less successful. 

Ey the constitution the government received a republican form, with 
a central legislature and executive. The executive power is in the 
hands of a president, elected every five years; and a council of state, 
consisting of the ministry, two members of the court of justice, an 
ecclesiastical dignitaiy, a general, two ex-ministers, (fee. The legisla- 
ture consists of a Congress composed of a Senate of 20 members re- 
taining their functions for nine years, and a House of Representatives 
elected triennially, to which a deputy is sent for every 20,000 of the 
population. 

The President of Chili, in 1859, was Manuel Montt, against whose 
authoi ity an unsuccessful attempt was made by the reactionary party in 
the early part of that year. 

ECUADOR. 

HIS republic lies between 1° 40' N. lat. and 5° 50' 
S. lat , and 70° 20' and 80° W. long. It is bounded 
on the north by the republic of New Granada, east 
by Brazil, south by Peru, and west by the Pacific 
ocean. Its area is estimated at 287,638 square miles. 
It is divided into the departments of Ecuador, Guaya- 
quil, and Assuay, and these again into a number of provinces. 
The population of Ecuador is about 700.000. 

Ecuador was discovered bv Pizarro in 1526 ; and came into the 
hands of the Spaniards at the downfall of the empire of the Incas. 
It remained^a Spanish possession until 1812, when the inhabitants rose 
in insurrection and made a determined efibrt to throw off the Spanish 
yoke. Quito was then a part of the viceroyalty of New Granada, and 
it participated fully in the frequent vicissitudes of the war, which 
ended in 1823 with the complete expulsion of the Spaniards. By the 
convention of Cucuta, in 1821, New Granada and Venezuela united and 
formed one republic under the name of Colombia, b t this union 
lasted only till 1831, when these countries again sep-^rated. Ecuador, 
or the ancient kingdom of Quito, was then also separated from New 
Granada, and since that time has existed as an independent state* 
Ecuador declared itself an independent republic, and established a con- 
stitution, according to which it is governed by a president elected for 
eight years, a vice-president, council of state, and a house of repre- 




GUIANA. 



799 



sentatives consisting of one member for every 40,000 inhabitants. 
The Roman Catholic is the established religion : the church is presided 
over by the Archbishop of Quito and the Bishop of Guayaquil. The 
presidency in 1859 was occupied by FranQois Robles. 




GUIAI^TA. 

-'^HIS is the name applied to the north-eastern por- 
tion of South America extending from the banks of 
the Orinoco to those of the Amazon river. Guiana 
has an area of more than 650,000 square miles, of 
which a large portion is included within the boun- 
daries of the empire of Brazil and the republic of 
Venezuela : a territory of about 96,000 square miles constitutes 
British Guiana, about 60,000 square miles Surinam, or Dutch 
Guiana, and about 22,000 square miles Cayenne, or French 
Gui;,na; but the boundaries of the respective districts are, in 
some mstances, not very clearly defined. 

Guiana was discovered before the end of the 15th century by Vin- 
cent THnzon. The Dutch formed the first settlement, about 1590, on 
the Dcnierara river, and afterward established themselves at other 
places. T e English settled in 1634 in the neighborhood of the 
rivers Berbice and Surinam; but in 1667 the English settlements were 
given up to the Dutch. The French occupied Cayenne in 1663. 
During the last war with France the English occupied the Dutch set- 
tlements; and by the treaty of Paris, 1814, they restored only those 
between the Courantyne and the Marony to the Dutch, retaining pos- 
session of the remainder. 

British Guiana consists of the districts of Demerara, Essequibo, and 
Berbice. The seat of government is at Georgetown, Demerara. The 
governor is appointed by the crown, and legislative affairs are con- 
ducted by a Court of l^olicy and a College of Financial Representa- 
tives. The population is about 150,000. 

Dutch Guiana is governed by an officer appointed by the crown and 
a council elected by the freeholders. The seat of government is at 
Paramaribo, on the Surinam river. The population of the colony is 
about 75,000. 

French Guiana has a population of about 30,000. The government 
is conducted by a governor, privy council, and colonial council of 16 
members chosen by the inhabitants. Cayenne is the capital of the 
colon V. 



800 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



NEW GEANADA. 




HIS republic extends from south to north from the 
equator to 12° 30' N. lat., and from east to west 
from 70° to 83' W. long. It is bounded on the 
north by the Caribbean sea, south by Ecuador, east 
by Venezuela, and west by Costa Rica and the 
Pacific ocean. It contains an area of 521,948 square 
miles, divided into 35 provinces, with a population of about 
two and a half millions. 

New Granada was discovered by Alonso de Ojeda in 1499. 
The first settlement was made at Santa Maria la Antigua, on 
the Uulf of Darien, in 1510. The interior of the country was only con- 
quered toward the middle of the 16th century, by Benalcazar and 
Ximenes de Quesneda, who founded the town of Santa Fe de Bogota 
in 1545. Tiie Spaniards continued in possession of this country till 
1811, when New Granada proclaimed its independence. The war 
which was the consequence of this declaration, continued to devastate 
the different provinces of which New Granada consists to the year 
1821. In 1819 New Granada and Venezuela, being united into one 
republic, formed a constitution at the Congress of Rosario de Cucuta 
in 1821, and received into the union Ecuador and Panama in 1823. 
This union was dissolved in 1831, and the republic of Colombia 
divided into the three republics of Venezuela, New Granada, and 
Ecuador. Like the other republics of South America, New Granada 
has been ever since the declaration of independence in a very unsettled 
condition. In 1854 New Granada was in a state of revolution. The 
government troops were defeated ; and Bogota, the capital, was in 
possession of the Constitutionalists. 

The country has since been comparatively quiet and prosperous. 
The legislature consists of a Senate, with 39 members chosen by the 
provinces, and a Chamber of Deputies, with 65 members elected by 
the people. The presidential chair in 1859 was filled by Manuel 0. 
Rodrigues. 



PARAGUAY. 



801 




PAEAGUAY. 

■^'HE republic of Paraguay is situated nearly in the 
centre of Soutti America, between the rivers Paran4 
and Paraguay, and embraces an area of 72,000 
square miles. Brazil bounds it on the north and 
east, Corrientes on the south, and the Argentine 
Confederation on the west. Its population is about 
df a million. 

After the Spaniards had discovered the wide embouchure of 
the Rio de la Plata, they sailed upward, and tried to establish 
a colony on the banks of the river. But two attempts of this 
kind failed. The" settlements contained only a small number of set- 
tlers, who were soon destroyed by the warlike natives of the plains. 
In 1535, the Adelantado, Don Pedro de Mendoza, was sent with a 
considerable number of vessels to found a great colony. He sailed up 
the Parana and Paraguay for nearly a thousand miles, until he came 
to Paraguay, where he founded the town of Assuncion. From this 
place the Spaniards, by degrees, spread over all the countries of South 
America south of 20° S. lat., and east of the Andes. In the 16th cen. 
tury the Jesuits were sent to those parts, for the purpose of converting 
the natives to Christianity. Their success was not great until they 
obtained from the Spanish court a mandate (about 1690) forbidding 
all other Spaniards to enter their Missiones without their permission. 
The Jesuits settled among the numerous tribe called the Guaranis, on 
both sides of the river Parana, above the island of Apipe, and suc- 
ceeded in bringing them to a certain degree of civilization. When 
the Jesuits were expelled, in 1767, the Missiones were inhabited by 
more than 100,000 civilized Indians, of whom, perhaps, less than half 
the number were in Paraguay. They afterward dispersed through 
different parts of La Plata, but it seems that the majority settled in 
Paraguay, which after that time was entirely subjected to the viceroy of 
Buenos Ayres. In tSIO, when an independent government was con- 
stituted in Buenos Ayres, Paraguay refused to acknowledge its au- 
thority, and defeated General Belgrano, who had been sent to bring 
Paraguay to obedience. The country soon after declared its inde- 
pendence. After some changes in the government. Doctor Caspar 
Rodriguez de Francia, a lawyer, was in 1814 elected dictator. In 
1817 he became dictator for life; and he ruled the country with an 



802 



SOUTH AilERICA. 



iroQ sway till his death in 1840. During his long and cruel despotisir. 
he adopted the policy of the Jesuits, absolutely prohibiting all inter- 
course with foreign countries, and placing the iutercourse with the 
neighboring provinces under the most irksome restrictions. No per- 
son who entered the country was permitted again to leave it without 
special permission from Francia himself. He was succeeded by Lopez, 
who has been dictator since 1844, and has governed the country in a 
somewhat more liberal manner, establishing commercial intercourse 
with the neighboring provinces and with foreign nations. In conse- 
quence of wrongs inflicted upon citizens of the United States, and 
insults offered to the flag of that nation, Paraguay was visited by a 
powerful fleet of the North American confederacy, in the early part of 
1859, and by timely concessions avoided a rupture with that power. 




PATAGOXIA AND THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. 

■'^HIS is a country in South America, comprehending 
the most southern portion of the continent from the 
Rio Negro to the Straits of Magalhaens or Magellan, 
by which it is divided from Terra del Fuego. The 
area is about 300,000 square miles, and the popula- 
tion, composed wholly of natives, numbers less than 
150,000. It was discovered by the Spanish navigator Magal- 
haens in 1519. H ■ named its inhabitants Patagonians, on ac- 
count of the large size of their feet, such being the Spanish 
meaning of the term. He described them as being of a gigan- 
tic stature, seven or eight feet in height; but the statement was dis- 
believed even in his own day, and has since been disproved — though 
it is ascertained that they are really a people of more than the average 
physical development. 

Terra del Fuego, or the land of fire, is the name of a group of 
islands, lying south of the Straits of Magellan, and forming the south- 
em extremity of the continent. It was thus named by Magalhaens, 
in consequence of the numerous fires seen along its shores. 

The Falkland Islands are a group lying about 300 miles east of the 
entrance to the Straits of Magellan. The chief islands are East and 
West Falkland, the former with an area of 3,000 square miles, and the 
latter of 2,000. Quite an interesting history is connected with these 
islands. They were discovered in 1592 by Dr. John Davis, who ac- 
companied Cavendish in his second voyage ; and Hawkins, who sailed 
along them in 1594, called them Hawkins's Maiden Land. In 1690 



PATAGONIA, ETC. 



803 



Sfrono- .-,-ile<l through the channel which separates East and West 
Falkland, and called it Falkland Sonnd, whence the islands were after- 
ward named the Falkland Islands. Several vessels from St. Male 
passed near the ii-lands between 1706 and 1714, and from these they 
were nam^ d by the French Les lies Malo nines. In 1764 the French 
established a colony on one of the harbors of Berkeley Sound on East 
Falkland, and called it St. Louis ; and two years later the British 
formed a settlement on AYest Falkland, on the inlet called Port Eg- 
mont. Soon afterward the French, in 1767, ceded their settlement 
to the Spaniards, who, in 1770, attacked the English colony and took 
it. After some negotiations Port Egmont was restored to the Eng- 
lish. The British afterward abandoned the colony, but did not give 
up the rights of possession. The Spaniards also withdrew their gar- 
rison from Port Louis. 

In the beginning of the present century the whale-fishery in the 
Southern Atlantic began to be prosecuted on an extensive scale by 
Bome European nations and the North Americans. Many of the 
whaling vessels visited the Falkland Islands, especially to kill wild 
cattle and refresh their crews. It was also discovered that the islands 
were visited l y a great number of seals, and these animals attracted 
numerous other adventurers. This induced the government of the 
newly established republic of Buenos Ayres to take possession of East 
Falkland in 1820, and in 1823 they formed a settlement at Port Louis. 
England protested against these proceedings in 1829, and in 1833 the 
Ciolony was given up to the English. For some years only a lieutenant 
of the navy with a boat's crew resided at Port Louis, but the British 
government resolved, in 1840, to colonize the islands, and to send 
there a governor and a small establishment. They settled at Port 
Louis ; but on examining the country in its vicinity it was found that 
Port William, south of Berkeley Sound, offered greater advantages as 
a naval station and port of refage, and in 1844 Governor Moody laid 
out a town on the southern shores of Stanley Harbor, a land-locked 
inlet, sheltered from every wiiul. 



804 



SOUTH AMERICA. 




PERU. 

;^niS republic is situated between 3° 30' aud 21° 28' 
™ S. lat., and 68° 20' and 81' 20' W. long., and is 
bounded on the north by Ecuador, east by Brazil, 
south by Bolivia, and west by the Pacific ocean. It 
is divided into eleven departments and two shore 
provinces, and contains an area of nearly 500,000 
square miles. 

When the Spaniards first visited Peru they found the country 
under a well-regulated government, and inhabited by a nation 
which had made great progress in the arts of civilization. The 
people were decently dressed, and lodged in comfortable houses. Their 
fields were well cultivated, and artificial cuts had been made to conduct 
the water of the small rivers to a considerable distance for the pur- 
poses of irrigation. They had extensive manufactures of earthenware 
and woolen and cotton cloth, and also tools made of copper. Even 
now the elegant forms of their utensils, made out of the hardest rock 
without the use of iron tools, excite admiration. The extensive ruins 
of palaces and buildings scattered over the country, and the remains 
of the great road which led from Quito to Cuzco, and thence south- 
ward over the table-land of the valley of the Desaguadero, show that 
the nation was far advanced in civilization. This civilization appears 
to have grown up in the nation itself, and not to have been derived 
from communication with other civilized people. The navigation of 
the Peruvians was limited to coasting from one small harbor to another 
in balsas. The diflference in political institutions and in the usages of 
society between the Peruvians and Mexicans precludes the supposition 
of either of these two nations having received their civilization from 
the other. Besides this, they were divided by savage tribes, which 
were sunk in the deepest barbarism. The Spaniards were surprised 
to find this state of things in Peru. When they had got possession of 
the country they inquired into its history, and leai-ned the following 
truditions : 

About three centuries before the arrival of the Spaniards, Manco 
Capac and Mama Ocollo appeared on the table-land of the Desagua- 
dero. These two personages, male and female, of majestic stature, ap- 
peared clothed in garments, and declared that they were children of 
the sun, and spnt by their parent to reclaim the human race from 



PEEU. 805 

its misery. The savage tribes submitted to tbe instruction of these 
beings of a divine origin, who taught them the first arts of civilization, 
agriculture, and the manufacture of clothing. Manco Capac organized 
a regular government, and formed his subjects into four different ranks 
or classes, which had some slight resemblance to the castes of the 
Hindoos. He also established many useful customs and laws, and 
founded the town of Cuzco, which soon became the capital of an ex- 
tensive empire, called the empire of the Incas (or lords) of Peru, He 
and his successors being considered as the offspring of the divinity, 
exercised absolute and uncontrolled authority. His successors gradu- 
ally extended their authority over the whole of the mountain region 
between the equator and 25° S. lat. When the Spaniards first en- 
tered Peru the 12th monarch from the founder of the state, named 
Huayna Capac, was said to be seated on the throne. He had violated 
the ancient usage of the Incas, which forbade a monarch to marry a 
woman not a descendant of Manco Capac and Mama OcoUo. His 
wife was a daughter of the vanquished king of Quito, and the son 
whom she had borne him, named Atahualpa, was appointed his suc- 
cessor in that kingdom. The rest of his dominions he left to Huascar, 
his eldest son by a princess of the Inca race. This led to a civil war 
between the two princes, and when the contest was at its height, a 
Spanish force entered the country under Francisco Pizarro in 1531. 

Pizarro had sailed, in 1526, from Panama to a country lying farther 
Bouth, which, according to the information collected from the natives, 
abounded in precious metals. He sailed along the coast as far south 
as Cape Parina or Cape Aguja. Landing at Tumbez, in the Bay of 
Guayaquil, the most northern point of the present republic of Peru, he 
was struck with the advanced state of civilization of the inhabitants, 
and still more with the abundance of gold and silver vessels and uten- 
sils. From this time he resolved on the conquest of the country. In 
1531 he "returned with a small force which he had procured from 
Spain, marched along the coast, and in 1532 built the town of St 
Michael de Piura, the oldest Spanish settlement in Peru. The dis- 
tracted state of the country, caused by the civil war, enabled the 
Spaniards to take possession of it without a battle ; and though the 
Peruvians afterward tried to renew the contest, they were easily de- 
feated and compelled to submit to a foreign yoke. Pizarro built the 
towns of Piura, Truxillo, Lima, Arequipa, and Huamanga : Cuzco was 
founded by Manco Capac. 

The disorders which immediately followed the conquest nearly 
caused the loss of the country, a circumstance which determined the 



806 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



court of Spain to make Peru the chief seat of the Spanish dominions 
in South America. Lima ^vas chosen for the capital, and it soon rose 
to such opulence that it was called the City of the Kings. The au- 
thority of Spain took deeper root in Peru than in any other of hei . 
South American Colonies. In 1780 the Peruvians took up arms 
against the Spaniards, under Tupac Amaro, an Inca, but failing to cap- 
ture the town of La Paz after a long siege, they again submitted. 
When all the Spanish colonies began to rise against the mother coun- 
try, after the year 1810, Peru remained quiet, and though some of the 
neighboring provinces had already expelled the Spanish armies, and 
others were attempting to do the same, the Spaniards remained in un- 
disturbed possession of Peru until 1820 ,when General San Martin, after 
having expelled the Spaniards from Chili, entered Peru at the head 
of a victorious army, and soon obtained possession of Lima. The in- 
dependence of Peru was declared on the 28th of July, 1821, and San 
Martin was proclaimed protector of Peru. The Spanish viceroy Can- 
terac, who had remained in possession of the Montana, gradually re-, 
covered the Yalles. San Martin, having lost his popularity, resigned 
his authority into the hands of the legislature on the 1 9th of August, 
1822. On the 1st of September, Bolivar, the Columbian general, en- 
tered Lima, and continued the war with Canterac, but at first with 
doubtful success. In February, 1824, Bolivar was made dictator; and 
in December of the same year the Spanish army, under Canterac, was 
entirely defeated by Sucre, on the plains of Ayacucho, by which battle 
the authority of Spain in Peru and South America was annihilated. - 
In February, 1825, Bolivar had resigned the dictatorship, but he had 
previously contrived to separate the southern provinces from the 
northern, and to convert the former into a new republic, which adopted 
the name of Bolivia. Several different forms of government were tried 
within the six years following the declaration of independence. The 
constitution adopted by Bolivar in 1826 excited gi^eat discontent, and 
as' Bolivar was soon afterward obliged to go to Columbia, where an 
insurrection had broken out and a civil war was on the point of com- 
rriencing, a complete revolution took place in Peru, in January, 1827.' 
The Bolivian constitution, or government, was abolished, and a new 
federal constitution, avowedly founded on that of the United States of 
North America, was framed and adopted, and may be considered as 
still in force. The national congress, or supreme legislature, consists 
of two bodies, a senate and a house of representatives. The president, • 
in whose hands the executive power is placed, is chosen for four years, 
arid he cann t be re-elected. The departments have their own legis 



UEUGUAT. 



807 



latnres, and administer their own affairs, but the laws passed by these 
legislatures must be approved bv the National Congress. The highest 
officers of the central government in the departments are the prefects 
and subprefects. These persons, as well as the judges, are elected by 
the congress from three candidates, who are proposed by the provin- 
cial governments. The Roman Catholic religion alone can be publicly 
exercised. But though this is still the nominal constitution, Peru haa 
been, ever since its adoption, almost continually distracted by parties 
struggling for power, and by civil wars and revolutions produced by 
these continual struggles, while the government has really been in the 
hands of the chief of the successful party. 

In 1855 General Echinique was driven from power by a revolution, 
and Ramon Castilla assumed the presidency, which he continued to hold 
as late as 1859. 

rPvUGUAY. 

RUGITAY, formerly called the Banda Oriental, com- 
rehends the country lying between the southern 
limit of Brazil and the Rio de la Plata ; it is bounded 
north by Brazil, east by the Atlantic Ocean, and 
south and west by the Argentine Confederation. 
There are nine departments in the State, and the 
^population is estimated at less than 150,000. The territorial 
i:\vea is Y3,538 square miles. 

The Banda Oriental was, during the Spanish supremacy, the 
^ name of that portion of the viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres which; 
was situated to the east of the river Uruguay, and comprehended the 
present republic of Urnguay and the country called the Seven Mis- 
sions. The continual civil wars by which the declaration of independ- 
ence was followed in Buunos Ayres, induced the government of Brazil 
to take jos^is-ion of the Banda Oriental in 1815. The republic of 
Buenos Ayres protested against this step, and, as no amicable settle- 
ment could be made, a war ensued between the two countries in 1825. 
Throuo-h the intervention of the English government a treaty of peace 
was concluded in 1828, by which the northern district, known as the 
Seven Missions, was ceded to Brazil, and the more exclusive southern 
district was declared an independent republic, under the title of Re- 
publica del Uruguay Oriental. But instead of securing peace to the 
country its independence appears hitheilo to have only entailed dis- 
cord upon it. Internal hostilities broke out at a very early period, 
and these were soon followed bv the incursion of troops from Buenos 




808 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



Ayres ; the assistance of Rosas, the president of Buenos Ayres, having 
been invoked by Aribe, one of the unsuccessful aspirants to the ruler- 
ship of Uruguay. After a long continuance of strife, without any 
prospect of either party securing a manifest superiority, Brazil was in- 
duced, by the appeals of Paraguay and otlier neighboring powers, to 
interfere. In order to show her good faith, Brazil sent ministers to 
the courts of England and France, with a view to obtain their assist- 
ance either as umpires or active agents in compelling the respective 
parties to come to terms. Those powers accordingly sent some ships 
of war to the Rio de la Plata in 1845. The English ships blockaded 
Montevideo till 1848, and the French till 1849, when both England 
and France made treaties with Rosas. On these powers withdrawing, 
Brazil commenced more active hostilities — the Argentine provinces of 
Corrientes and Entre Rios uniting with her. The war was, however, 
prolonged till 1851, when Aribe was forced to capitulate in Uruguay, 
and Rosas was soon after deposed in Buenos Ayres. Treaties between 
the several parties gave peace to Uruguay as far as regarded hostilities 
with foi eign powers, and secured the recognition of the republic by the 
neighboring states. But internal discord in this, as in so many other 
of the petty republics of South America, appears to have become 
chronic, and affairs have continued in a more or less unsettled state. 
The president of the republic, in 1859, was G. Antonio Pereira. 



YEl^EZUELA. 

HIS state extends over the north-eastern portion of 
South America, being situated between 1° 10' and 
20' N. lat., and 60° and 73° W. long. It is 
bounded north by the Caribbean sea, east by Brazil, 
Guiana, and the Atlantic ocean, south by Brazil, and 
west by New Granada. It contains an area of 
426,000 square miles, and is divided into fifteen provinces, em- 
bracing a population of about a million and a quarter. 

The most eastern part of this coast, and the Island of Marga- 
rita, were discovered by Christopher Columbus in his third 
voyage, 1498, and the following year the whole northern coast of 
South America, from the Gulf of Paria to Cape de la Vela, in New 
Granada, was discovered by Ojeda and Vespucci. In the same year 
Christobal Guerra made a voyage for the purpose of ascertaining the 
commercial wealth of the country. The first settlements on the conti- 
nent were at Curaana, which was built in 1520, and at Coro, which 




VENEZUELA. 



809 



was built in 1527. About this time the emperor Charles V. gave up 
the whole northern coast as far west as Cape de la Vela to the Wel- 
sers, a family of merchants in Augsburg, to be held as a fief of the 
crown of Castile; but he resumed possession of it in 1542. Several 
places in the coast range had already been discovered where there 
were indications of gold ; and the Spaniards now began to form their 
settlements. Tucuyo was established in 1545, Barquicimento in 1552, 
Valencia in 1555, and Cardcas in 1567. In 1634 the Dutch took pos- 
session of the island of Curasao, and from that time Venezuela began 
to rise. The continually increasing demand for cacao on the part of 
the Dutch induced the Spanish settlers to attend to its cultivation, and 
m a short time a considerable quantity of cacao was exported. This 
excited the jealousy of the Spanish court and of the Spanish mer- 
chants. Various means were employed to direct this branch ot com- 
merce to Spain, but with little success. In 1700 the company of 
Guipuzcoa was established, in which was vested the exclusive right of 
carrying on the commerce with Venezuela ; but the cultivation of cacao» 
as well as of indioo, was more promoted by the smuggling trade with 
the Dutch than by that of the company, and in 1778 the company dis- 
solved, and the trade was open to all the ports of Spain. Venezuela 
remained under the sway of Spain till 1808, when Napoleon I., having 
deposed the royal family, made his brother Joseph king of Spain. 
Venezuela, like all the American colonies of Spain, declared for the 
ancient dynasty; but being dissatisfied with the measures of the re- 
gency of Spain, it proclaimed its independence in 1810, but in 1812 
was brouglit back to its ancient political condition. In 1813 Bolivar, 
a native of Venezuela, made an unsuccessful attempt to liberate his 
native country from the yoke of Spain; in 1816 he was more success- 
ful. In that year a war began between the Spaniards and the inhabit- 
ants, which lasted till 1823, when the Spaniards who had remained in 
the country gave up Puerto Cabello, their last place of refuge. In 
1821 Venezuela united with New Granada and Quito, and formed one 
republic under the name of Colombia ; in 1 830 they separated amica- 
bly, and since that time they have constituted the three republics of 
Venezuela, New Granada, and Ecuador. In the year in which the 
union was dissolved Venezuela formed a new constitution, which un- 
derwent some modifications in 1843. By it Venezuela has a central 
government, the legislature of which is invested with the power of 
making laws on all subjects. The legislative power is vested in a Con 
gress, which consists of a house of representatives and of a senate^ 
Each province sends two members to the senate, and one member tc 



. .SIO SOUTH AMEKICA. 

the house of representatives for every 25,000 inhabitants. The execu* 
tive power is vested in the president, who, like the vice-president, is 
chosen for four years. Like the other South American republics 
Venezuela has, since its independence, been in a continually disturbed 
state. 

In 1857 and '58 a revolution took place, which drove President 
Monagas from power, who had governed the country in a c/)rrupt and 
despotic manner, and elevated General Castro in his place. In the lat- 
ter year also, by vote of the Congress of the nation. General Paez, a 
distinguished Venezuelan patriot, who had been living in exile many 
years in the United States, was recalled; be was conveyed to his na- 
tive land in one of the vessels of the United States naval expeaitiop 
bound to Paraguay. 



THE WEST INDIES. 




ANTIGUA. 

HE island of Antigua, one of the leeward group, 
belongs to Great Britain. It contains an area of 
168 square miles, and a population of about 40,000. 
It was discovered by Columbus in 1492, who gave 
it the name of Santa Maria de la Antigua; but it 
was found totally uninhabited by those few French- 
men who fled thither in 1629, upon being driven from St. 
Christopher by the Spaniards. The want of fresh water in- 
duced the fugitives to return as soon as they could. It appears 
that in 1640 there were about thirty English families settled in 
this island ; and the number was not much increased when Charles II. 
granted the property to Lord Willoughby. In 1666 it was invaded by 
a French force, which laid waste all the settlements. A few years af- 
terward Antigua was again settled by Colonel Codrington, who was 
appointed its governor. It was visited by an earthquake in 1843, by 
which most of the principal buildings were destroyed. 

The executive government of Antigua is vested in a governor, who 
is also governor-in-chief over all the Leeward Islands. Its legislature 
consists of a council nominated by the crown, and a house of assembly 
chosen by the freeholders of the island. 

To the north and west of Antigua lie the smaller islands of An- 
guilla, Barbuda, and St. Bartholomew. The two former are under 
British rule, and the last is a colonial possession, and the only one, of 
Sweden, in the West Indies. It was first settled by a French colony 
from St. Christopher, in 1648, and after passing into the hands of the 
English and French alternately, several times, was finally ceded to 
Sweden in 1*785. It has an area of 25 square miles, and a population 
of 9,000. 

811 



812 



THE WEST INDIES. 




BAEBADOES. 

ARBADOES is the most eastern of the Caribbefl 
Islands, and the most ancient of the British posses- 
sions in these seas. It is fifteen miles long and ten 
broad, and contains an area of 166 square miles. Its 
population is about 150,000. 
The Portuguese landed in Barbadoes about the year 1600, 
and left there a few plants and some swine. The island was 
itaken possession of Dy the English in 1605 ; the first settlement 
'was made by Sir William Courteen in 1624, and named by him 
James Town. After a dispute between two claimants for court 
favor, the Earls of Carlisle and Marlborough, the former was put in 
possession of the island by patent. A kind of island parliament was 
constituted, and Barbadoes so far flourished as to have a population of 
50,000 by the year 1647. The Barbadians being for the most part 
Loyalists, the island was taken by the Parliamentary party in 1 652. 
After the restoration much complexity arose out of the allegiance 
which the Barbadians owed to the king and to the Earl of Carlisle and 
his heirs; and in 1663 an arrangement was made whereby all claims 
of the earl and his heirs were commuted for an annual percentage on 
the revenues of the island. 

In 1664 Barbadoes was attacked unsuccessfully by the Dutch Ad- 
miral De Buyter. In 1668 a destructive fire laid nearly all Bridge- 
town in ashes. In 1669 Barbadoes was made the head-quarters of the 
Windward Islands. In 1675 the island was visited by an awful hur- 
ricane : neither tree nor house was left standing, except a few shel- 
tered by some hill or cliff", and the whole face of the country exhibited 
one scene of desolation, while the coast was strewed with wrecks, and 
many lives were lost at sea and on shore. During the remainder of 
Charles II.'s reign an illiberal course of policy was pursued toward 
Barbadoes, greatly to the dissatisfaction of the colonists. On the ac- 
cession of King William the Barbadians, in conjunction with Colonel 
Codrington, governor of the Leeward Islands, voluntarily undertook 
an expedition against the French in these seas, in which they greatly 
distinguished themselves in several remarkable exploits. The calami- 
ties of war were, in 1692, aggravated by the ravages of pestilence and 
an insurrection of the negroes ; nevertheless the Barbadians sent a 
thousand men to assist in the attack upon Martinique in that vear 



CUBA. 



813 



A long period of comparative quiet and prosperity ensued ; but in 
1Y56 the war which was kindled in Europe afforded the Barbadians 
ian opportunity of showing their zeal and fidelity by furnishing 000 
white volunteers, with negroes for laborious service, besides supplies 
to the fleet, under Commodore Moore, destined to attack Martinique, 
and to the forces besieging Guadaloupe. Mr. Hay, who assumed the 
government in 1V73, was very anxious to improve the commerce of 
the island, and recommended that application should be made to ob- 
tain for it the privileges of a free port, but the opportunity was lost, 

Barbadoes has been singularly afflicted by fires and hurricanes. 
Bridgetown, in the last century, was burnt down four times in ten 
years. A tremendous hurricane commenced on the 10th of October, 
1780, and continued to rage with unparalleled violence for forty-eight 
hours, threatening universal ruin. 

The governor of Barbadoes is also superior governor of all the 
Windward Islands. Hon. Francis Hincks held the office in 1859. 
The legislature consists of the governor, a council, and house of assem- 
bly. ]3arbadoes is the most thickly populated and among the most 
prosperous of the British West Indies. . 



CUBA. 



^UBA, the largest and most westerly island in the 
West Indies, was discovered by Columbus, 1492; 
and was first called Juana, in honor of Prince John, 
son of Ferdinand and Isabella; afterward Fernan- 
dina ; then Santiago and Ave Maria, in deference to 
I lie patron saint of Spain and the Virgin. The name of Cuba 
is that which it was called by the natives at the time of its 
discovery. It is about eight hundred miles in length, and 
about one hundred and twenty-five in breadth, containing an 
area of 47,000 square miles, and a population of more than a 
million. The Spaniards made no settlement upon it till 1511, when 
Dii'go de Velasquez arrived with four ships, and landed on the eastern 
point. This district was under the government of a cacique, named 
Hatney, a native of St. Domingo, who had retired hither to avoid the 
slavery to which his countrymen were com^emned. Those who could 
escape the tyranny of the Spaniards had followed him in his retreat. 

The Spaniards soon overcame the Indians. Hatney was taken pris 
oner, and condemned to be burned. Velasquez found no more enemies 
All the caciques hastened to do him homage. After the mines had 




814 THE WEST INDIES. 

been opened, and it was found that they did not answer, the inhabi- 
tants of Cuba, having become useless, were exterminated. 

In 1762 the English took Havana, but it was restored to Spain by 
the peace of 1763, and the island has remained a Spanish colony ever 
since. For a long period Cuba has been iiotorious for the extent to 
which the traffic in slaves has been carried on in its several ports. The 
English government, after long continued efforts, at last succeeded, in 
1853, in inducing the Spanish government to pledge itself to adopt 
measures for the suppression of the slave-trade in Cuba ; but the traffic 
continues more or less active down to the present time. The import- 
ance of Cuba, as commanding the approaches to the Gulf of Mexico, 
has led to several attempts on the part of the United States to nego- 
tiate with Spain for its purchase ; but the latter has seemed little will- 
ing to part with her rich and important colony. Attempts have been 
made at domestic revolution, with a view of establishing the independ- 
ence of Cuba, but these have thus far proved unsuccessful. 



CUEAgOA. 

;->^URAQOA was settled by the Spaniards early in the 
sixteenth century; it was taken in 1632 by the 
Dutch, and was captured by the English in 1798, 
but restored to Holland at the peace of Amiens. It 
was again taken by the English in 1806, and finally 
given up to Holland at the general peace in 1814. 

It lies off the coast of Venezuela ; is about thirty miles long 
and six broad, and contains a population of nearly 20,000. 

In this connection we may embrace the mention of some 
other small islands in the West India group, owned by the 
Dutch : St. Eustatius, lying eleven miles north of St. Christopher, 
with an area of ninety-seven square miles, and a population of about 
2,000. Bonaire, twenty-seven miles north-east of Cura^oa; area 
eighty-three square miles, population about 2,500. Aruba, fifty miles 
north-west of Curagoa; area twenty-three square miles, population 
about 3,000. Saba, lying fifteen miles north of St. Eustatius; area 
sixteen square miles, population less than 2,000. The south part of 
St. Martin, twelve square miles, and nearly 3,000 inhabitants. 




GUADELOUPE. 



815 




OMINICA was discovered by Columbus in 1493, 
and received its name in consequence of its being 
first seen on a Sunday. The right of occupancy was 
long claimed equally by England, Spain and France, 
but the island was virtually a kind of neutral ground 
until the year 1Y59, when its possession was assumed 
jby the English, and their right to hold it was formally recognized 
17C3 by the treaty of Paris. In 1778 Dominica was taken 
by a French squadron under the Marquis de Bouille, but was 
restored to England at the peace in 1783. In 1805 the island 
was again attacked by the French fleet under Admiral Yilleneuve, but 
was successfully defended by the garrison under Sir George Prevost. 

This island lies between Martinique and Guadeloupe ; is twenty- 
eight miles long, with an average breadth of ten miles, and contains a 
population of about 25,000. It has a lieutenant-governor, council, and 
assembly consisting of twenty members. 

GUADELOUPE. 

HIS island, a possession of France, was one of the 
discoveries of Columbus. It is of an irregular form, 
about twenty-seven miles long by fifteen wide, 
containing an area of 534 square miles, and a popu- 
lation of about 140,000. 

The part of the island which gives its name 
to the whole colony is, toward the centre, full of craggy 
Among these rocks is a mountain called La Soufri- 
the Brimstone Mountain, which rises to an im- 
mense height, and exhales^ through various openings, a thick 
and black smoke, intermixed with sparks that are visible by night. 
From these hills flow numberless streams, which fertilize the plains 
below. Such is that part of the island properly called Guadeloupe, 
or Basse-terre. That part which is commonly called Grand-terre 
has been less favored by nature. 

In 1635 the first settlement was made on this island, by two 
gentlemen from Dieppe, named Lohne and Duplesis, with about five 
hundred followers. Through imprudence all their provisions were 
exhausted in two months ; famine stared them in the face, when they 




3 



816 



THE WEST INDIES. 



resolved to plunder the natives. This, however, did not avert the 
dreadful alternative. How far the accounts of their horrible sufferings 
are to be credited we know not, but it is asserted that the colonists 
were reduced to graze in the field and to dig up dead bodies for their 
subsistence. Many who had been slaves in Algiers deplored the fate 
that had broken their fetters ; and all of thera cursed their existence. 
It was in this manner that they atoned for their crime of invasion, till 
the government of Aubert brought about a peace with the natives, 
A. D. 1640. The few inhabitants that escaped the calamities they had 
brought upon themselves were soon joined by some discontented 
colonists from St. Christopher's, and by Europeans fond of novelty. 
But still the prosperity of Guadeloupe was impeded by obstacles aris- 
ing from its situation. Martinique engrossed every species of traflBc, 
from its convenient harbors and roads. It was in consequence of this 
preference that the population of Guadeloupe, in 1700, amounted only 
to about four thousand whites and seven thousand slaves, many of 
whom were Caribs ; while the produce of the island was proportiona- 
bly small. Its future progress was, however, as rapid as the first at- 
tempts had been slow. 

At the end of 1755 the colony contained near ten thousand whites, 
and between forty and fifty thousand slaves; and such was the state of 
Guadeloupe when conquered by the English, in 1759, after a siege of 
three months, in which time the island sufi*ered so much as to be 
nearly ruined. The conquerors, however, delivered the inhabitants 
from their fears ; they overstocked the market, and thereby reduced 
the price of all European commodities. The colonists bought them 
at a low price, and, in consequence of this plenty, obtained long delays 
for payment. The colony was restored to France by the peace of 
Paris, in 1763. During the French republican war Guadeloupe was 
taken by the English, and retaken by the French, in whose hands it 
now remains. 

Affairs are conducted by a governor, privy council, and colonial 
council, the latter consisting of thirty members chosen by the colonists. 
In this and the other French West India Islands slavery was abolished 
in 1848. 

In the vicinity of Guadeloupe, and under its control, are the smaller 
islands of Marie Galante, twelve miles long by eight broad ; Deseada, 
eight miles by three ; Les Saintes, a group of rocky islets ; and St. 
Martin, with an area of thirty-three square miles. The northern part 
of this last mentioned island is owned by the French, while the Dutcb 
control the southern part. 



JAMAICA. 



817 



GKE]S"ADA. 

NE of the West India Islands, belonging to Great 
Britain, is about twenty-four miles long and ten 
broad. The French formed a project for settling 
there as early as the year 1638, yet they never car- 
ried it into execution till 1651. At their arrival 
they gave a few hatchets, some knives and a barrel 
to the chief of the natives they found there ; and, 
they had purchased the island with these trifles, as- 
sovereignty, and soon acted as tyrants. The Caribs, 
contend with them by open force, took the usual 
method which weakness inspires to repel oppression; they murdered 
all whom tl ey found alone and defenceless. The troops that were 
sent to snp{»orr the infant colony destroyed all the natives they found. 
The remainder of these miserable people took refuge upon a steep 
rock, preferring rather to throw themselves down alive from the top of 
it than to fall into the hands of an implacable enemy. The French 
sailed this rock Le Morne des Sauteurs (the Hill of the Leapers), which 
name it still retains. The French held this island till 1762, when it 
was captured by the British, to whom it was confirmed by the treaty 
of 176SL The French, however, retook it in 1799, but restored it in 
1783, agreeably to the treaty of peace. 

Grenada has a population of about 30,000. Its government is like 
that of the other British islands, consisting of a lieutenant-governor, 
30uncil, and house of assembly. 




JAMAICA. 

AMAICA, the largest and most valuable of the Brit- 
^ish West India Islands, was discovered by Columbus in 
his second voyage, in 1494. It is about one hundred 
'and sixty-five miles in length, from east to west, and 
its average breadth about forty miles, bearing a re- 
semblance to a long oval. It contains an area of 
>^,250 square miles, and a population of about 400,000. In 
)1502 Columbus was driven upon the island by a storm, and, 
'having lost his ships, he implored the humanity of the natives, 
who gave him all the assistance that natural pity suggests. 
Tbey soon, however, grew tired of supporting strangers, and insensibly 




818 



THE WEST INDIES. 



withdrew from their neighborhood. The Spaniards, who had already 
treated the Indians ungenerously, now took up arms against one of 
their chiefs, whom they accused of severity towrad them. Columbus, 
forced to yieM to the threats of his people, in order to extricate him- 
self from so perilous a situation, availed himself of one of those natural 
phenomena in which a man of genius may sometimes find a resource. 
From the knowledge he had acquired of astronomy he knew that an 
eclipse of the moon was fast approaching. He took advantage of this 
circumstance, and summoned ail tlie caciques in the neighborhood to 
come and hear something that concerned them, and was essential to 
their preservation. lie then stood up in the midst of them, and hav- 
ing upbraided them with their cruelty, in suffering him and his dis- 
tressed companions ahnost to perish, he thus emphatically addressed 
them : " To punish you fur this, the God whom I worship is going to 
stiike you with his most terrible judgments. This very evening you 
will see the moon turn red, then grow dark, and withhold its light 
from you. This will be only a prelude to your calamities, if you ob- 
stinately persist in refusing to give us food." He had scarcely done 
speaking when his prophecies were fulfilled. The Indians were tem- 
fied beyond measure ; they begged for mercy, and promised to do any 
thing that he should desire. He then told them that Heaven, moved 
with their repentance, was appeased, and that nature was going to re- 
sume her natural course. From that moment provisions were sent 
from all quarters ; and the Spaniards were never in want of any thing 
during the time they remained there. 

It was Don Diego Columbus, son of the discoverer, that first fixed 
the Spaniards in Jamaica. In 1509 he sent ^thither seventy robbers 
from St. Domingo, under the command of John de Esquimel, and 
others soon followed. These wretches went over apparently for no 
other purpose but to shed human blood ; in fact, they never appear to 
have sheathed their swords while there was an inhabitant left. The 
murderers raised sevei'al settlenjents upon the ashes of the natives ; but 
that of St. Jago de la Vega was the only one that could support itself. 
The inhabitants of that town contented themselves with living upon 
the produce of some few plantations, and the overplus they sold to the 
ships that passed by their coasts. The whole population of the colony, 
centered in the little spot that fed this race of destroyers, consisted of 
about fifteen hundred whites, and as many slaves, when the English 
came and attacked the town, took it, and settled there, in 1655. The 
English brought the fatal sources of discord along with them. At first 
the new colony was only inhabited by three thousand of that fanatical 



JAMAICA. 



819 



army who had fought and conquered under the standards of the re- 
publican party. These were soon followed by a multitude of royalists. 
The divisions which had prevailed for so long a time, and with so 
much violence, between the two parties in Europe, followed them 
beyond the seas. One party triumphed in the protection of Crom- 
well ; the other trusted to the governor of the island, who was, in 
secret, a royalist. The name of this governor was Dudley; and by his 
disinterested behavior he enforced his authority. When Charles II. 
was restored to the crown a form of civil government was established 
at Jamaica, modelled, like those of the other islands, upon that of the 
mother country. 

Jamaica soon after became the grand depot of the buccaneers, a set 
of pirates who plundered the seas, and ravaged the coasts of America. 
Here the spoils of Mexico and Peru met with a hearty reception ; and 
here "extravagance and debauchery held their court" till this destruc- 
tive race became extinct, or annihilated, in consequence of the fre- 
quency of the murders they committed. The illicit trade carried on 
between Jamaica and the Spanish colonies had, in 1739, according to the 
best calculations, brought into the former upward of £65,000,000 ster- 
ling. The court of Madrid thought to put a stop to it, by prohibiting the 
admission of foreign ships into the Spanish harbors on any pretence 
whatever. But the people of Jamaica supported themselves in this 
trade under the protection of the English men-of-war, by allowing the 
captain five per cent, upon every article of which he authorized the 
smuggling. After the establishing of register ships by Spain this trade 
gradually diminished; and sometime previous to the year 1766 it was 
reduced to about £56,000 per annum. The British ministry at that 
time wishing to restore or recover the profit of it, thought that the 
best expedient to repair the losses of Jamaica was to make it a free 
port. This was no sooner done than the Spanish American ships 
flocked thither from all parts to exchange their gold and silver, and 
other commodities, for the manufactures of England. 

St. Jago, or Spanish Town, is the capital, but Kingston by far 
exceeds it in size and opulence. The town of Port Royal stood on a 
point of land running far out into the sea, and ships of several hundred 
tons could come close up to the wharfs. When the earthquake hap- 
pened on the 7th of June, 1692, this town contained two thousand 
houses, all of which were destroyed, and vast numbers of persons per- 
ished. The earthquake was followed by an epidemic disease, which 
carried off three thousand more. Port Ptoyal was soon rebuilt ; but in 
^anuary, 1703, it experienced another great calamity, a fire m-arly re- 



820 



THE WEST INDIES. 



ducing it to ashes. Many people now removed to Kingston. It was, 
however, built a third time, and was rising toward its former grandeur, 
when it was overwhelmed by the sea, on the 28th of August, 1722. 

Jamaica remained a prosperous colony of Great Britain until 1833, 
when the abolition of slavery throughout the British West Indies 
operated to lessen the supply of labor, and produced a great deteriora- 
tion in the value of the property and productions of the island. With 
the introduction of emigrant laborers, the condition of things has been 
improving of late years. 

The executive is in the hands of a governor, who is styled Captain- 
General and Governor-m-Chief. The governor, as well as the council, 
is appointed by the sovereign of Great Britain. The council consti- 
tutes the Upper House. The Lower House, or the Assembly, is com- 
posed of members chosen by the freeholders. The governor in 1859 
was the Hon. C. H. Darling. 

The Caymans, consisting of three principal islands. Grand Cayman, 
Little Cayman, and Caymanbrac, and embracing an area of 260 square 
miles, are situated south-west of Jamaica, and are dependencies of 
that government. 

MAETIXIQUE. 

ARTINIQUE, the native name of which is said to 
have been Madiana, was discovered by the Spaniards 
in 1493; colonized by the French in 1635; taken 
by the English in 1762, and again in 1794 and 
1810; and restored finally to France in 1 814. Its 
'^original inhabitants were Caribs, of which race there are 
none left on the island. It is the most northern of the 
Windward Islands. 

f?K3r*' It contains an area of 322 square miles, and a population of 
J' about 125,000. The government is conducted by a governor, 
privy council, and colonial council. It is at present a flourishing 
colony of France. Martinique is distinguished as the birth-place of 
the Empress Josephine, and her first husband, the Viscount Beauharnois. 




MOXTSEREAT. 

This island was discovered by the Spaniards in 1493, who gave it 
the name of a mountain in Catalonia, which it resembled in shape. It 
js about twelve miles in length, and five in its broadest pait. The 
English landed here in 1632, and soon after drove ofi* all the natives_ 



PORTO RICO. 



821 



The progress of the colony was slow ; and it acquired no kind of im- 
portance till the close of the seventeenth century, when the culture of 
sugar took place. 

It has a population of about 8,000, and a government administered 
by a president, council, and house of assembly. It is under the con- 
trol of Great Britain, and forms one of the Leeward group. 



KEYIS. 

This small island, now belonging to the British, was originally dis- 
covered by Columbus ; and the English, under Sir Thomas Warner, 
settled on it in 1628. It is separated from St. Christopher by a nar- 
row channel, and is properly only one very high mountain, about seven 
miles over each way. It was ravaged by the French in 1706, and the 
next year almost destroyed by the most violent hurricane ever recorded. 

This island is governed by an administrative council and assembly, 
and contains an area of twenty-one square miles and a population of 
about 10,000. 

POETO KICO. 

^WT^^-^^issTT^ HIS island was discovered by Columbus in 1493; 

about one hundred miles in length, from east 
f \ ^S^jSf^ west, and forty from north to south, with an area 
^3 -*|'j^/^^^y^ of 3,865 square miles. The Spaniards neglected it 
^\ ,^ -^k^ilj-) till 1509, when thirst of gold brought them thither 
from St. Domingo, under Ponce de Leon, to make 
liH^ a conquest, which afterward cost them dear. Ambition, re- 
Ml\ enge, and love of gold prompted the Spaniards to the most^ 
fi^k atrocious outrages. They found the inhabitants brave and fond 
of liberty ; and as they looked up to the European visitants as 
a supei'ior order of beings, to their authority they voluntarily submit- 
ted It was not long, however, before they wished to shake off the 
intolerable yoke under which they groaned, and postponed the enter- 
prise until they could assure themselves that they were not immortal.. 
A cacique, named Broyo, was entrusted with this commission ; and 
chance soon favored the design, by bringing to him Salzedo, a young 
Spaniard, who was travelling. Broyo received him with the greatest^ 
respect, and, at his departure, sent some Indians to attend him on his 
way, in quality of guides. When they came to the bank of the river,. 
which they were to pass, one of them took him on his shoulders to 
carry him across ; but no sooner had he got into the middle of the 



822 



THE WEST INBIES. 



Btream than lie threw the Spaniard into it, and with the assistance of 
his companions, he kept him there till no signs of life remained. They 
then dragged him to the bank, but, as they were still in doubt whether 
he was dead or living, they begged pardon many times for the acci- 
dent that had happened. This farce lasted three days; till at length 
being convinced, by the putridity of the body, that it was possible for 
Spaniards to die, the Indians rose on all sides upon their oppressors, 
and massacred upward of one hundred of them. 

l*once de Leon immediately assembled all the Castilians who had 
escaped, and fell upon the Indians, who, as historians relate, had the 
extreme folly to suppose that these Spaniards were the same that had 
been killed and were come to life again to fight them. Under this 
ridiculous and almost incredible persuasion, dreading to continue a 
war with men who revived after death, they submitted again to the 
yoke of a cruel foe ; and being condemned to the mines, six hundred 
thousand are said to have fallen martyrs to the sword or the toils of 
slavery. 

Under the old colonial system of Spain, in 1*788, the population was 
little more than eighty thousand. In 1856 it was estimated at half a 
million. Previously to 1815, Porto Rico being excluded from all 
direct intercourse with other countries excepting Spain, was but slowly 
progressive. At that period, however, a royal decree appeared, which 
exempted the trade between Spain and the Spanish colonies and Porto 
Rico from all duties for fifteen years; and she was then also permitted 
to carry on a free trade, under reasonable duties, with other countries. 
These wise and liberal measures contributed to the prosperity of the 
island. In the latter part of the seventeenth century Porto Rico was 
taken possession of by the English ; but they did not long retain it, 
owing to the prevalence of disease among the troops. An attempt at 
revolution, with a view to separation from the mother country, was 
made in 1822, and suppressed the following year. The government, 
laws, and institutions are nearly similar to those established in the 
■>ther transatlantic colonies of Soain. 



THE BAHAMAS. 



823 




THE BAHAMAS. 

HE Bahamas, or Lucayos, are a chain of low islands 
stretching in a north-westerly direction from the 
north side of St. Domingo to the coast of Florida, 
between 20° 55' and 27° '40' N. lat., and 68° 40' 
and 79° 20' W. long. It is composed of innumera- 
ble rocks, islets (called keys), and islands, of which 
twenty are inhabited. 

The chief of these are New Providence, Eleuthera, St. Salva- 
dor, Abaco, Crooked Island, and Grand Bahama. The area of 
the entire group is estimated at 5,422 square miles, and the 
population at about 28,000. The Bahamas are under British control, 
and are directed by a governor, council, and house of assembly. 

St. Salvador was the first land fallen in with by Columbus on his 
first voyage in 1492. The Spaniards carried away to Mexico the few 
natives whom they found on the island, and the Bahamas remained 
uninhabited till the year 1629, when New Providence was settled by 
the English; the settlers held it till 1641, and were then expelled by 
the Spaniards, who destroyed the colony, but made no attempt to set- 
tle there themselves. It was again colonized by the English in 1666, 
and continued in their hands till 1703, when a combined force of 
French and Spaniards destroyed Nassau, and obliged the inhabitants 
to seek refuge by flight. Some, however, who remained were ren- 
dered desperate by their recent sufferings, and the place became a ren- 
dezvous for pirates, who became so notorious and committed such 
depredations in the adjacent seas, that government determined to sup- 
press them, and resettle the colony. This took place in 1718, and 
shortly afterward settlements were formed on some of the other 
islands: Nassau itself (the town of New Providence) was fortified in 
1740. In 1776 New Providence was taken possession of by the 
Americans, but they abandoned it very shortly afterward. In 1781 
all the Bahamas were reduced by the Spaniards, but by the treaty of 
peace in 1783 they were again restored to the British crown. At the 
close of the American war many of the Royalists transferred the re- 
mains of their property, including in many cases their houses, to these 
islands, and since that period the number of the people and the culti- 
vation of the land have progressively increased. 

Caygos Islands and Turk Islands were formerly included in tbe 



824 



THE WEST IKDTES. 




Bahama group for purposes of government, but at the urgent request 
of the inhabitants they were, in 1848, formed into a presidency, under 
the control of the governor of Jamaica. They contain an area of 430 
square miles, and a population of 5,000. Salt raking is the leading 
business of these islands. 

TOBAGO. 

OB AGO was discovered by Columbus in 1496, and 
derives its name from the pipe (tobacco) used by 
the natives in smoking the herb " kohiba" (tobacco). 
At an early period the British flag was planted on 
the island, and James I. granted it to the Earl of 
Pembroke, but no attempt was made by the Eng- 

J'J|^ lish to colonize it. In 1632 the Dutch formed a settlement 
4S called the island New Walcheren, but the Spaniards from 
Trinidad attacked and destroyed the colony. Twenty years 
afterward the Dutch returned, and soon after a party of about one 
hundred Courlanders arrived, the Duke of Courland, godson of James 
I., having obtained a grant of the island. In 1763 it was ceded by 
France to England. In 1781 the French captured it. In 1793 Gen- 
eral Cuyler, with 2,000 men, took the island ; and it has ever since 
been a British possession. 

Tobago is included in the government of the Windward Islands, and 
its affairs are administered by a lieutenant-governor, a legislative coun- 
cil of nine members, and ^ house of assembly of sixteen members. It 
is situated twenty-four miles north-east of Trinidad, and contains an 
area of 187 square miles, and a population of more than 13,000. 

TRINTDAD. 

Trinidad was discovered by Columbus in 1498, when it contained 
a numerous aboriginal population. It was first colonized, in 1588, by 
the Spaniards; in 1676 it was taken by the French, but almost im- 
mediately restored, and in 1797 it was taken by the British, in whose 
possession it has since remained. 

' It is the most southerly of the Windward Islands, and lies imme- 
diately off the coast of Venezuela, from which it is separated only by 
a* narrow strait. This island is remarkable for its pitch lake, which is 
described as being a body of water, or rather of fluid pitch, of un- 
known depth, in a slow state of ebullition, and exhaling a strong 
bituminous and sulphurous odor. Trinidad is about ninety miles long 



ST. DOMINGO. 



825 



and fifty wide, with an area of 2,000 square miles, and a population 
of about 70,000. Its affairs are managed by a governor, assisted hj 
executive and legislative committees. 

ST. CHKISTOPHEK. 




HIS island lies west of Antigua, is seventeen miles 
long and six broad, containing an area of sixty-eight 
square miles and a population of about 25,000. It 
was discovered in 1493 by Columbus, who gave it 
the name it bears. It was the mother country of 
all the English and French settlements in the West 

IMS Indies. Both nations arrived there on the same day in 1625; 
AX they shared the island between them; signed a perpetual neu- 
trality ; and entered into a mutual engagement to assist each 
other against their common enemy, the Spaniards. War com- 
menced between England and France in 1666, and St. Christopher be- 
came a scene of carnage for nearly half a century, terminating only 
with the total expulsion of the French in 1702. . The island is gov- 
erned by a lieuienant-governor, and is represented by a deputation 
to the Antigua assembly. 



ST. DOMmGO. 

This island, which forms one of the Great Antilles, has been variously 
known as Hispaniola, or Little Spain, Hayti^and St. Domingo. It ex 
tends ft-om the Mona Passage, which separates it from Puerto Rico, to 
the AVindward Passage, which lies between it and Jamaica and Cuba, 
between 68° 30' and 74° 30' W. long., 17° 40' and 20° N. lat. Its 
length is about 360 miles. Its area is about 29,500 square miles. 
The island is now divided between two states ; the western portion 
forming the empire of Hayti, the eastern the republic of Dominica. 

Hispaniola was discovered by Columbus on his first voyage 
(January 1493), at which time it received this name. The Spaniards 
formed settlements first at Isabella and then at San Domingo. For 
nearly half a century these settlements received much attention, and 
rose to great prosperity, until different parts of the American conti- 
nent were discovered and conquered. From that time Hispaniola was 
neglected, and, as the natives had been nearly extirpated, the island 
soon became depopulated, and the northern and western districts were 
nearly a desert. The buccaneers now settled on the island of Tortuga, 



THE WEST INDIES. 



opposite Cape Frangais, and also on the coast. Perceiving that they 
would be driven away by the Spaniards, they voluntai ily submitted to 
France, and Louis XIV. sent them a governor. In 1697 the Spaniards 
were obliged to give up the western districts, or about one-third of the 
island, to France. The French, who considered their portion of His- 
paniola as the most valuable of all their foreign settlements, began to 
cultivate it with great care. In 1791 the agricultural produce of the 
French portion only was valued at more than £8,000,000 sterling. In 
1794 the negro slaves were declared free by the National Convention, 
a declaration which was followed by a general insurrection of the ne- 
groes and mulattoes, who massacred a large number of the white in- 
habitants, and compelled the remainder to emigrate. One of their 
chiefs, Touissant I'Ouverture, established in 18(U a kind of republic, 
but was obliged to submit to a French army sent out by Bonaparte in 
1802. After he had been treacherously taken prisoner and sent to 
France, the negroes rallied under Dessalines, and expelled the French 
in 1803. Dessalines restored to the island the name of Hayti, a name 
by which it was called by the natives when discovered by Columbus. 
In 1804 Dessalines followed the example of Bonaparte, and called 
himself emperor; in 1806 he was murdered. After his death the 
French portion of Hispaniola was divided into two states: the north- 
ern coast was formed into a negro republic under Christophe, who, in 
1811, also took the title of emperor; the plains about the Bay of 
Gonaves became a mulatto republic under Petion. Continual war was 
carried on between these two republics. After the death of Petion 
(1813) he was succeeded jis president of the republic by Boyer. Chris- 
tophe having killed himself on the breaking out of an insurrection in 
1820, Boyer united the whole under his authority. In the mean time 
the Spanish part of Hispaniola had been ceded to France in 1795, but 
was reoccupied by the Spaniards in 1808. The following year, how- 
ever, it declared its independence of the Spanish government, and re- 
mained in an unsettled state until 1822, when it was subjected to the 
authority of Boyer, who thus united the whole island under his gov- 
ernment. France recognized the independence of Hayti in 1825, the 
Haytian government undertaking to pay the sum of 150,000,000 
francs (subsequently reduced to 90,000,000 francs) as an indemnity 
for the losses of the French colonists during the revolution. Boyer 
retained the presidency till 1844, when he was deposed. The follow- 
ing years were spent in a struggle for the supreme power, which was 
terminated by the election, in March, 1847, of General Faustin Sou- 
louque as president. Although nominally republican, the government of 



ST. LUCIA. 



827 



Hayti was really despotic, absolute power liaving been usurped by the 
president ; and even the name of a republic was at length put an end to 
bySoulouqne declaring himself, August, 1849, Emperor of Hayti. He 
was crowned as Faustin 1. in April, 1850. His corrupt rule led to his 
overthrow in the early part of 1859, by a revolutionary party under 
the lead of Gen. Fabre Geffrard, who restored the republic and was 
elected president. The population of Hayti is about 650,000. 

Meanwhile, however, the eastern or Spanish part of the island had 
been formed into a separate state. Taking advantage of the weakness 
of the Haytian government, the inhabitants of Spanish Hispaniola, 
in February, 1844, declared themselves independent, under the title 
of the Dominican republic. Their leader. Gen. Santana, was elected 
the first president; and he was succeeded in 1849 by Gen. Baez. 
Santana having regained power, was once more deposed and driven 
from the country by a revolutionary party under Baez, who, in 1859, 
' was president of the republic. Its population is about 150,000. 




ST. LUCIA. 

HIS island is about twenty-seven miles in length 
and fourteen miles in breadth. Its area is 225 
square miles, and its population about 25,000. It 
is situated east of St. Vincent and south of Marti- 
nique. St. Lucia was discovered by Columbus. The 
English took possession of it in the beginning of the 
year 1689, without opposition. They lived there peaceably 
about a year and a half, when they were massacred by the na- 
tives. In 1650, about forty French arrived there under Rous- 
selan, who married one of the natives, and was beloved by them. 
He died four years after. Three of his successors were murdered by 
the discontented Caribs ; and the colony was declining, when it was 
taken by the English in 1664, who evacuated it in 1666. They had 
scarce left it when the French appeared again on the island. Twenty 
years after the English drove out the French. The English again 
quitted it; and it at length remained wholly without culture. In 
1718 Marshal d'Estrees obtained a grant of St. Lucia, and sent over a 
commandant, troops, and inhabitants. This gave umbrage to the 
court of London, which had a prior claim ; therefore the French minis- 
try ordered that things should be put into the same state as they were 
before the grant. In 1722 the Duke of Montague had a grant of St. 
Lucia from the British ministry. This gave uneasiness to France, and 



828 



THE WEST INDIES. 



it was at length agreed, in 1Y36, that neither nation should occupy it, 
but that both should "wood and water" there. However, the peace 
of 1763 gave to France this long-contested territory. During the 
American war, 1778, it was taken by the English. It was afterward 
given up to France; then again captured by the English in 1803, with 
whom it now remains, having been so definitely assigned by the treaty 
of Paris. A lieutenant-governor and legislative council administer the 
government of the island. 

ST. YIN CENT. 

§T. VINCENT forms one of the Windward group of 
islands, and is under British rule, having a local lieu- 
tenant-governor, council, and assembly. It is about 
eighteen miles long and eleven wide, with an area of 
131 square miles and a population of nearly 30,000. 
The island was one of the discoveries of Columbus, 
•ly at the same time as the other islands in its neigh- 
. For some time after its discovery it was the gen- 
lezvous of the red Caribs, the original possessors of the 
archipelago. In 1660, when the English and French 
agreed that Dominica and St. Vincent should be left to the Caribs as 
their property, some of these natives, who till then had been dispersed, 
retired into the former ; but the greater part into the latter. Thio 
population was soon after increased by a race of Africans, whose origin 
was never positively ascertained. The natives treated them with kind- 
ness and mingled with them in marriage, whence sprung the race 
called black Caribs. In 1719 many inhabitants of Martinique re- 
moved to St. Vincent. In less than twenty years the population 
amounted to eight hundred whites and three thousand blacks. In 
this situation was the island when it fell into the hands of the English, 
to whom it was secured by the peace of 1763. In 1799 it was re- 
captured by the French ; but it reverted to Great Britain in 1783. 

The English had no sooner got possession than they issued an order 
to deprive the cultivators of the lands of their property, unless re- 
deemed. The settlers remonstrated against a proceeding so unjust, 
but were disregarded; and the lands were ordered, by the English min- 
istry, to be sold indiscriminately. This severity made them disperse. 
Some went to St. Martin, Marie Galante, Guadeloupe and Martinique ; 
but the greater part to St. Lucia. The Caribs still occupied the wind- 
ward side of the island, which contained fine plains; but having refused 



VIRGIN ISLANDS. 



829 



to evacuate them when ordered so to do by the English, the latter took 
to arms to compel them. These unfortunate people defended themselves 
with extraordinary courage during several years, but were at length 
obliged to submit. The greater part were exterminated during the 
war, and the remainder either fled or were sent off the island. 




YIEGrN" ISLANDS. 

HESE are an extensive group of small islands, lying 
™ between 18° 5' and 18° 50' N. lat., and 64° 10' and 
65° 40' W. long., exclusive of the island of Santa 
Cruz, or Saint Croix, which properly does not belong 
to the group, but is commonly considered as form- 
ing part of it, because it belongs to Denmark, which 
also is in possession of some islands of the group itself. This 
island is about fifty miles S. from the centre of the Virgin 
Islands. The Virgin Islands extend in nearly a straight line 
from west-south-west to east-north-east, and occupy a space of 
about 100 miles in length, with an average width of twenty miles. 
The most western belong to Spain ; the most eastern belong to the 
British ; those in the centre to Denmark. 

The British islands amount to about fifty in number ; but most of 
them are very small. They are stated to cover a surface of between 
ninety -three and ninety-four square miles. The largest of these islands 
are : Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Comance, Beef Island, Guana, Tortola, 
Jost Van Dyke's, and Peter's Island. The population of the whole of 
these islands in 1850 was estimated at 7,000 persons. 

Tortola, the most important of the British Virgin Islands, extends 
nearly twelve miles from east-north-east to west-south-west, but it^ 
width does not exceed two miles. Its area is said to be 13,300 acres. 

The Danish islands consist of St. John, St. Thomas, and Santa Cruz. 
St. John has an area of twenty-four square miles; St. Thomas thirty 
square miles; aud Santa Cruz 110 square miles. United population 
about 40,000. 

The Spanish islands are a short distance from the eastern coast of 
Porto Rico, and consist of two, of moderate extent, and several islets. 
The northern island, called Calebra, or Passage Island, has an area of 
ten square miles. 

Santa Cruz and the Virgin Islands w^ere discovered by Columbus on 
his second voyage, 1494. Tliey were then inhabited, and Santa Crna 
was the nr ^st northern island in which the Caribbees had establislied 



830 



THE WEST INDIES. 



themselves; but toward the end of the sixteenth century no inhabi- 
tants were found on them. In the seventeenth century these islarids 
became the resort of buccaneers; some Dutch buccaueers began to settle 
Tortola in 1G48, but were expelled from the island by the English in 
1666, and since that time the island has always been in their posses- 
sion. The island of St. Thomas was settled by the Danes in 1672; 
and a few years later the Danes also possessed themselves of St. John. 
These islands were taken by the British in 1801, but were restored in 
the following year. They surrendered to the English in 18U7, and 
continued in their hands till 1815, when they were again restored to 
the Danes. The British islands are under the authority of the gov- 
ernor of St. Kitts, but they have a separate legislative assembly. The 
Danish islands are under the care of the Danish governor residing at 
Christianstadt, the capital of Santa Cruz ; and the Spanish islands are 
<lrpeudeucies of Porto Rico. 



APPENDIX. 



THE COJ^STITUTIOIf OF THE UOTTED STATES OP AMERICA. 

Framed dwr^vg the year 1787, by a convention of delegates, who met at Philadel 
phia, from the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, jUaryland, Virginia, North Carolina^ 
South Carolina, Georgia. 



We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, 
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, 
promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves 
and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States 
of America. 

ARTICLE L 

Sect. I. — All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a congresa 
of the United States, wliich shall consist of a senate and house of representa- 
tives. 

Sect. II. — 1. The house of representatives shall be composed of members, 
chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electora 
In each stale shall have tlie qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch oi the state l<-gislature. 

2. No person shall be a representative, who shall not have attained to the 
age of twenty-five years, anil been seven years a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall 
be chttseu. 

8. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several 
states which may be included within this Union, according to their respective 
numbers, which shall be iletermined by adding to the whole number of free 
persons including those bound to servitude for a term of years, and excluding 
Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall 
be made within three years after the first meeting of the congress of the United 
States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they 
shall by law direct. The number of representatives shall not exceed one for 
every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least one rejiresentative: 
and, until such enumeration shall be made, the slate of New Hampshire shall 
be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence 
Plantations one, Connecticut five. New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvauia 
eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Car 
olina five, and Georgia three. 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the executive 
authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies 

831 



832 



APPENDIX. 



5. The house of representatives shall choose their speaker, and other ofldccrs 

and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Sect. III. — 1. The senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof for six years : and 
each senator shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately alter they shall be assenabled, m consequence of the first 
election, they -shall be divided as equally as may be into throe classes. The 
seats tf the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the 
second year • '>f the second cl^s-, at tlie expiration of the fourth year ; and of 
the third class, at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be 
chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, 
during the recess of the legislature of any state, the executive thereof may 
make temporary appointments, until the next meeting of the legislature, which 
eball then till such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall 
not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen. 

4. The vice-president of the United States shall be president of the senate, 
but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5. The senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president pro tem 
pore, in the absence of the vice-president, or when he shall exercise the office of 
president of the United States. 

6. The senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When 
sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath, or aflSrmation. When the 
president of the United States is tried, the chief-justice shall preside : and no 
person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members 
present. 

7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to remova' 
from ofiice, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any ofiice of honour, trust, or 

Erofit under the United States ; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, 
e liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according 
to law. 

Sect. IV. — 1. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators 
ftud representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof ; 
but the congress may, at any time by law, make or alter such regulations, except 
as to the places of choosing senators. 

2. The congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting 
shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall, by law, appoint a 
difi^erent day. 

Sect. V. — 1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and 
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a 
quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, 
and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such 
manner and under such penalties as each house may provide. 

2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members 
for disorderly behaviour, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a mem- 
ber. 

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time 
publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in their judgment, require 
secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, 
shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journals. 

4. Neither house, during the session of congress, shall, without the consent of 
the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in 
which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Sect. VI — 1. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation 
for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the 
United States. They shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of 
peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their 
respective houses, and in goiug to and returnmg from the same ; and for any 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



833 



speech or debate m either house, they shall not be questioned in any other 
place. 

2. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was elect- 
ed, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, 
which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been 
increased during such time ; and no person, holding any office under the United 
States, shall be a member of either house during his continuation in office. 

Sect. V'II. — 1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the house of 
'•epresentatives ; but the senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on 
other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the house of representatives and the 
senate shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the president of the Uni- 
ted States ; if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it, with his 
objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the 
objections at large on tlieir journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such 
reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be 
sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise 
be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a 
law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by 
yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall 
be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be 
returned by the president within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have 
been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had 
signed it, unless the congress, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which 
ca^^e it sliall not be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of the senate 
and house of representatives may be necessary, (except on a question of adjourn- 
ment,) shall be presented to the president of the United States ; and before the 
same shall take effect, shall be approved by him ; or, being disapproved by him, 
shall be repassed by two-thirds of the senate and house of representatives, ac- 
cording to the ruk'H and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Sect. VIII. — The congress shall have power — 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises ; to pay the debts, and 
provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States ; but 
ail duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States. 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States. 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, 
and with the Indian tribes. 

4. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the 8u)>ject 
of bankruptcies throughout the United States. 

6. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the 
standard of weights and measures. 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current 
coin of the United States. 

7. To establish post-offices and post-roads. 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for limited 
times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings 
and discoveries. 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court. 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, 
and offences against the law of nations. 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules con- 
cerning captures on laud or water. 

12. To raise and support armies ; but no appropriation of money to that use 
shall be for a longer term than two years. 

13. To provide and maintain a navy. 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval 
forces. 



a34 



APPENDIX. 



15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 

suppress in^urrections, and repel invasions. 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for 
governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United 
btutes, re'ierviug to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and 
the authority of training the militia, according to the disciplme prescribed by 
congress. 

17. Tr> exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such dis- 
trict, (n. t exceeding ten miles square,) as may, by cession of particular states, 
and the acceptance of congress, become the seat of the government of the United 
States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent 
of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forte, 
magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings : — and 

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution 
in the government of the United States, or in any department or office thereof 

Sect. IX. — 1. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the 
congress, prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or 
duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each 
person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus ihaU not be suspended, unless 
when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. 

3. No bill of attainder, or ex-post facto law, shall be passed. 

4. No capitation, or other direct tax shall be Lud, unless in proportion to the 
census, or enumeration, herein before directed to be taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. No 
preference shall be given, by any regulation of commerce or reveuue, tc the 
ports of one state over those of another ; nor shall vessels, bound to or from one 
state, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

6. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of ap- 
propriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account oi the receipts 
fcnd expenditures of all public money shaU be published from time to time. 

7. ISo title of uobiUty shall be granted by the United States; and no person 
holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the content of 
congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, 
from any king, prince, or foreign state. 

Sect. X. — 1. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; 
grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of credit ; make 
any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill 
of attainder, ex-post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or 
grant any title of nobihty. 

2, No state shall, without the consent of congress, lay any imposts or duties 
on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its 
inspection laws : and the net produce of ail duties and imposts, laid by any state 
on imports and exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United 
States, and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of congress. 
No state shall, without the consent of congress, lay any duty ou tonnage, keep 
troops, or ships of war, in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact 
with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, tinless actually 
invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE n. 

Sect. I. — 1. The executive power shall be vested in a president of the United 
States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, 
together with the vice-president, chosen for the same term, be elected as 
follows ; 

2 Each state shaU appoint, m such manner as the legislature thereof may 



CCNSTTrUnON OF THE TTNTTED STATES. 



835 



<urect, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and repre- 
sentatives to which the state maj be entitled in the congress; but no senat^w 
or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United 
States, shall l>e appointed an elector. 

3. The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for 
two persons, of whom one at least shall nut be an inhabitant of the same state 
with themselves. And they snail make a list of all the persons voted for, and 
of the number of votes for each; which Ust they shall sign and certify, and 
transmit, sealed, to the seat of government of the United States, directed to the 
president of the senate. The president of the senate siiail, in the presence of 
the senate and house of representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes 
shall then be counted. The person having tlie greatest number of votes shall 
be the president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors 
appointed ; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an 
equal number of votes, then the house of representatives shall immediately 
choose, bv ballot, one of them for president : and if no person have a majority, 
then from the five highest on the list, the said house shall, in like manner, 
choose the president. But in choosing the president, tlie votes shall be taken 
by states, the representation from each state having one vote ; a quorum for 
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, 
and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, 
after the choice of the president, the person having the greatest number of 
votes of the electors, shall be the vice-president. But if there should remain 
two or more who have equal votes, the senate shidl choose from them, by ballot, 
the vice-president. 

4. The congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day 
on which they shall give their votes : which day shaJl be the same throughout 
the United States. 

5. Ko person, except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United States 
at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall be eligible to the office of 
president, neither shall any person be eligible to that office, who shall not have 
attained the age of thirty -five years, and been fourteen years a resident within 
the United States. 

6. In case of the removal of the president from office, or of his death, resigna- 
tion, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same 
shall devolve on the vice-president ; and the congress may, by law, provide for 
the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the president and 
vice-president, declaring what officer shall then act as president, and such 
officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a president shall 
be elected. 

7. The president shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensaticm, 
which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he 
shall have been elected, and he shall not receive, within that period, any other 
emolument from the United States, or any of them. 

8. Before he enters on the execution of his office, he shall take the following 
oath, or affi mation : 

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of 
president of the United States, and will, to the best of my abiUty, preserve, 
protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

Sect. II. — 1. The president shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy 
of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into 
the actual service of the United States ; he may require the opinion, in writing, 
of the principal officer in each of the exe«utive departments, upon any subject 
relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to 
grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in 
cases of impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, to 
make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur ; and he shall 
nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint 



836 



APPENDIX. 



ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, judges of the supreme court, 
and all other officers of the United States, whose appointmeuts are not herein 
otherwise provided f(jr, and whiclj shall be e.stablished by law. But the con- 
gress may, by law, vei^t the appointment of such inferior officers as they think 
proper in the president alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

o. The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies that mav happen 
diiring- tiie ra ces'* of the senate, by granting commissions, which shall expire at 
the end of their next set-sion. 

Sect. III. — He thall, from iime to time, give to the congress information of 
tlu state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he 
shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, con- 
vene both houses, or eitlier of tliem, and in case of disagreement between them, 
with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as 
he .'"hail think proper ; he shall receive arnbassaclors and other public ministers 
he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commissioa all 
the officers of tlie United States. 

Sect. IV. — The president, vice president, and all civil officers of the United 
States, shall be removed fi-om office on impeachment for, and conviction of 
treason, bribery, or other higli crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III. 

Sect. I. — The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
supreme court, and in such inferior courts, as the congress may, from time to 
time, ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, 
shall hold their offices during good behaviour, and shall, at stated times, receive 
for their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their 
continuance in office. 

Sect. II. — 1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, 
arising under this constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, 
or which shall be made, under their authority ; to all cases affecting ambas- 
sadors, other public ministers and consuls ; to ali cases of admiralty and maritime 
jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United States shall be a partv ; to 
controversies between two or more states, between a state and citizens ol 
another state, between citizens of different states, between citizens of tlie same 
state claiming lands under grants of different states, and between a state, oi 
the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other pubhc ministers, and consuls, and 
those in which a state shall be a party, the supreme court shall have original 
jurisdiction. In all other cases before mentioned, the supreme court shall have 
appellate jurisdiction, b('th as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under 
such regulations, as the congress shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; 
and such trials shall be held in the state where the said crime shall have been 
committed ; but when not committed within any state, the trial shall be at 
such place or places as the congress may, by law, have directed. 

Sect. III. — 1. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying 
war against them, or in adlienng to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort, . 
No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witness- 
es to the same overt act, or on confession in open court 

2, The congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but 
no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except 
during the hfe of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE lY. 

Sv(T. I. — Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, 
rv^cind*., and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the congress may, 
by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceed- 
iii;;s shall be pr. ved, and the effect thereof. 



CONSTITUnON OF THE UNITED STATES. 



837 



Sect. IL — 1. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the privilegeB 
and immunities of citizens in the several states. 

2. A person, charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who 
shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall, on demand of the 
execu^'ive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be 
removed to the state having the jurisdiction of the crime. 

3. No person, held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof^ 
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law, or regulation therein, be 
discliarged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the 
party to whom such service or labor may be due. 

Sect III. — 1. New states may be admitted by the cangress into this Union 
but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any othei 
state ; n ir any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, or parts 
of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned, as well 
as of the congress. 

2. The congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory, or other property, belonging to the 
United States ; and nothing in this constitution shall be so construed as to pre- 
■udice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state. 

Sect. IV. — The United States shall guarantee to every state ir this Union, a 
republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion ; 
and on application of the legislature, or of the executive, (when the legislature 
cannot be convened,) against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V. 

The congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary 
shall propose amendments to this constitution, or, on the application of the 
legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for pro- 
posing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid, to all intents and 
purposes, as part of this constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three- 
fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the 
one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the congress : Provi- 
ded, that no amendment, which may be made prior to the year one thousand 
eight hundred and eight, shall, in any manner, afi'ect the first and fourtli clauses 
in the ninth section of the first article ; and that no state, without its consent, 
shall be deprived of its equal sufi'rages in the senate. 

ARTICLE VL 

1. All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption 
of this constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this consti- 
tution, as under the confederation. 

2. This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made 
in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the 
authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; and the 
judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or 
laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. 

3. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of 
the several state legislatures, and aU executive and judicial ofiicers, both of the 
United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath, or affirmation, 
to support this constitution ; and no religious test shaU ever be required, ae a 
qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. 



838 



APPENDIX. 



ARTICLE VIL 

The ratification of the conventions of nine states, shall be sufficient for the 
establishment of this Constitution, between the states so ratifying the same. 
]Jo7ie in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present, the seven- 
teenth day of September, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred 
and eighty eeven, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the 
twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names. 

1'he Constitution, although formed in 1787, was not adopted until 1788, and 
did not comuKMice its operations until 1789. The number of delegates chosen 
to this conventiofi was sixty five, of whom ten did not attend, and sixteen re- 
fused to sign the Constitution. The following thirty-nine sigued the Consti- 
tution : — 

New Hampshire — John Langdon, Nicholas Gelman. 
Massachusetts. — Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus Kmg. 
Connecticut. — William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. 
New York. — Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey. — William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, Jonathan 
Dayton. 

Pennsylvania. — Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George 
Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimmons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouverneur 
Morris. 

Delaware. — George Read, Gunning Bedford, jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bas- 
sett, Jacob Broom. 

Maryland. — James M'Henry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel CarrolL 
Virginia. — John Blair, James Madison, jr. 

North Carolina. — William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson. 
South Carolina. — John Rutledge, Charles C. Pinkney, Charles Pinkney, 
Pierce Butler. 

Georgia. — William Few, Abraham Baldwin. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, President 

WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 



AMENDMENTS 

To the Constitution of the United States, ratified according to the Provisions of 
the Fifth Article of the foregoing Constitution. 

Aet. I. — Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the freedom of speech, or 
of the press ; or the rights of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition 
the government for a redress of grievances. 

Art. 11. — A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free 
state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. 

Art, III. — No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house with- 
out the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be pre- 
8cri])ed by law. 

Art. IV. — The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ; 
and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affir- 
mation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or 
things to be seized. 

Art. V. — No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise in- 
famous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except 
in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual 
service, in time of war, or public danger ; nor shall any person be subject for 



CONSITTDTION OF THE TJNITED STATES. 



839 



the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be 
compelled, in anj criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived 
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall private pro- 
perty be taken for public use without just compensation. 

Art VL— In all ci-iminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a 
speedy and public trial, by au impartial jury of the state and district wherein 
the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously 
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of tlie accusa- 
tion ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory 
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel 
for his defence. 

Art. VII. — In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall 
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact, 
tried by jury, shall be otherwise re examined in any court of the United States, 
than accoriling to the rules of the common law. 

Art. VIII — Exces.^ive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishuients inflicted. 

Art. IX. — The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be 
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

Art. X. — The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, 
nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or 
to the people. 

Art. XL — The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to 
extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of 
the United States, by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any 
foreign state. 

Art. XIl. — The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by 
ballot, fur pre.*ident and vice-president, one of whom, at least, shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same state with themselves ; they shall name, in their ballots, 
the person voted for as president, and, in distinct ballots, the person voted for 
as vice-president ; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as 
president, and of all persons voted for as vice-president, and of the number of 
votes for ench, which lists they ahixll sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to 
the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the president of 
the senate. The president of the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and 
house of representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be 
counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for president, shall 
be the president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors 
appointed ; and if no person have such a majority, then from the persons having 
the highest numbers, not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as pre- 
sident, the house of representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the 
president. But, in choosing the })resident, the votes shall be taken by states, 
the representation from each state having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose 
shall Consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a 
majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the house of 
representatives shall not choose a president, whenever the right of choice shall 
devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the 
vice-president shall act as president, as in the case of the death, or other consti- 
tutional disability of the president. 

The person Imving the greatest number of votes as vice president, shall be 
the vice-president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors 
appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then, from the two highest nun,- 
bers on the lists, the senate shall choose the vice-president — a quorum for the 
purpose shall consist of twt)-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a ma- 
j<irity of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 

But no person, constitutionally ineligible to the office of president, shall be 
ehgible to that of vice-president of the United States. 

ARTICLE XTIL — Sec. 1. — Neither slavery nor mvoluntary servitude, except 
as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

Skc. 2. — Congress shall have power to eulorce this article by appropriate legia- 
lution. 



840 



APPENDIX. 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

JULY 4th, 1*7 7 6. 



THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES 

OF AMERICA IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED. 

Whkn, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to 
dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to 
assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which 
the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the 
opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel 
them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal : that 
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ; that among 
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that, to secure these rights, 
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the con- 
sent of the governed ; that, whenever any form of government becomes destruc- 
tive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to aboli»h it, and to 
institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organiz- 
ing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their 
safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long 
established should not be changed for light and traj)sient causes ; and, accord- 
ingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while 
evils are sufferable, than to right themselves b}'^ abolishing the forms to which 
they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursu- 
ing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute 
despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to 
provide new guards for their future security. Such has been ti)e patient suffer- 
ance of these colonies, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to 
alter their former systems of government. The history of the present king of 
Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpatiojis, all having in 
direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To 
prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world : 

He has refused his assent to laws the most whi>lesome and necessary for the 
public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing im- 
portance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; 
and, when so suspended, he has utterly n(-g!ected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of 
people, utdess those people would relinquish the right of representation in the 
legislature — a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, 
and distant from the repository of their public records, for the sole purpose of 
fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly for opposing with manly 
firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused, foi- a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be 
elected ; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned 
to the people at large for their exercise — the state remaining, in the mean time, 
exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without and convulsions within. 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



841 



He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states — for that pur- 
pose obstructing the laws of naturalization of foreigners, refusing to pass others 
to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropria- 
tions of hinds. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to \a.ws 
for establishing judioi.u-y powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices 
and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers 
to harass our people and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the con- 
sent of our legislatures. 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the 
civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our 
constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws — giving his assent to their acta 
of preten.led legislation. 

For quarteri: (J large bodies of armed troops among us ; 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any miu*ders which 
tliey should commit on the inliabitants of these states ; 

For cuttinu- off our trade with all parts of the world; 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent; 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury; 

For transporting us bevond seas to be tried for pretended offences; 

For abolidiitig tlie free system of English laws in a neighboring province, 
establishmy therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as 
to render ir at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same ab- 
solute rule into these colonies; 

For taking away our charters, ab<3lishing our most valuable laws, and altering, 
fundamentally, the for /ns of our governments; 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with 
power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here by declaring us out of his protection, and 
waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed 
the lives of nur people. 

He is at this time transpor^^ing large armies of foreign mercenaries to com- 
plete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun, with circum- 
stances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, 
and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear 
arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and 
brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections among us, and has endeavored to bring 
on the inhabitants of uur frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known 
rule of warfare is an undistiuguished destruction of all ages, iexes, and condi- 
tions. 

In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redi ess in the 
most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by re- 
peated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which 
may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. "We have 
warned them, from time to time, of attempts, by their legislature, to extend an 
unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circum- 
stances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their 
native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our 
comrjon kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably inter- 
rupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the 
?oice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the 



842 



APPENDIX. 



necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the est of 
mankind, enemies in war, in peace, friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in general 
Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the rec- 
titude of our intentions, do, in the name, and Ijy the authority of the good 
people of these colonie.s, solemnly publish and declare that these united colonies 
are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states ; that they are ab- 
solved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection 
between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dis- 
solved ; and that, as free and independent states, they have full powei to levy 
war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other 
acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the sup- 
port of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Provi- 
dence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred 
honor. 

The foregoing declaration was, by order of Congress, engrossed and sigried b-y 
the following members : 



Adams John 


Lynch, Thomas Jun. 


Adams Samuel 


M'Kea.n, Thomas 


Bartlett, Josiah 


Miudleton, Arthur 


Braxton, Carter 


Morris, Lewis 


Carroll, Charles, of Carrollton 


Morris, Robbrt 


Chase, Samuel 


Morton, John 


Clark, Abraham 


Kelson. Thomas, Jun. 


Clymer, George 


Paoa, William 


Ellery, William 


Paine, Robert Trkat 


Floyd, William 


Penn, John 


Franklin, Benjamin 


Read, George 


Gerry, Elbridge 


Rodney, Caesar 


Gwinnett, Button 


Ross, George 


Hall, Lyman 


Rush, Benjamin, M. D 


Hancock, John 


Rutledge, Edward 


Harrison, Benjamin 


Sherman, Roger 


Hart, John 


Smith, James 


Heyward, Thomas, Jua 


Stockton, Richard 


Hewes, Joseph 


Stone, Thomas 


Hooper, William 


Taylor, George 


Hopkins, Stephen 


Thornton, Matthew 


HoPKiNSON, Francis 


Walton, George 


Huntington. Samuel 


Whipple, William 


Jefferson, Thomas 


Williams, WilliAm 


Lee, Francis Lightfoot 


Wilson, James 


Lee, Richard Henry 


WiTHERSPooN, John 


Lewis, Francis 


WoLcoTT, Oliver 


Livingston, Pheup 


Wythk, George 



ABTICLES OF C03fFEDERATI01ir» 



843 



THE ORIGINAL 

ARTICLES OF COJf FEDERATION, 



TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 

t he undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our names, send greeting. 

WHEREAS, the delegates of the United States of America in congress 
•enabled, did, on the fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord on<j 
thousand seven hundred and seventy seven, and in the second year of the inde- 
pendence of America, agree to certain articles of confederation and perpetual 
union between the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Delaware, Maryland, Virgmia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, in 
the words following, viz. : 

Articles of Confederation and perpetual union between tfie States of New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecti- 
cut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

Article I. — The style of this confederacy shall be " The United States of 
America." 

Art. 11. — Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and 
every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this confederation expressly 
delegated to the United States in congress assembled. 

Art. IIL — The said states hereby severally enter into a firai league of friend- 
ship with each other, for their common defence, the security of their liberties, 
and their mutual and general welfare ; binding themselves to assist each other 
against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on ac- 
count of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretence whatever. 

Art. IV. — The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and inter- 
course among the people of the different states in this union, the free iiiliabitants 
of each of these states, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted, 
shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several 
states ; and the people of each state shall have free ingress and regress to and 
from any other state, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and 
commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions, and restrictions as the inhabit- 
ants thereof respectively, provided that such resti ictions shall not extend so far 
as to prevent the removal of property imported into any state, to any other state 
of which the owner is an inhabitant ; provided also, that no imposition, duties, 
or restriction shall be laid by any state on the property of the United States, or 
either of them. 

If any person guilty of, or charged with treason, felony, or other high mis- 
denaeanor, in any state, shall flee from justice, and be found in any of the United 
States, he shall, upon demand of the government or executive power of th« 
state from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the state having juris- 
diction of his offence. 

Full faitli and credit shall be given in each of these states to the records, acts, 
and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of every other state. 



84i 



APPENDIX. 



Art. V. — For the more convenient management of the general iifercsts of the 
Uitiied States, delegates shall be annually appointed, in such nuinner a.s the \eg- 
isidture of each state shall direct, to meet in coiigress on the first Monday in 
November, in every year ; with a power reserved to each state to recall its dele- 
gates, or any of them, at any time within tht year, and to send others in their 
Ktead for the remainder of the year. 

No state shall be represented in congress by less than two, nor by more than 
seven members ; and no person shall be capable of being a delegate for niore 
than three years in any term of six years ; nor shall any person, being a d. lega+e, 
be capable of holding any office under the United States, for wlii<li he, or 
another for his benefit, receives any Siilary, fees, or emdument of jiny kind. 

Each state shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the states, and 
while they act as members of the committee of the states. 

In determining questions in the United States, in congress assembled, tach 
state shall have one vote. 

Freedom of speech and debate in congress shall not be impeaclied or ques- 
tioned in any court or place out of congress, and the members of congress shall 
be protected in their persons from arrests and imprisonments, during the time of 
their going to, and from, and attendance on congress, except for treason, felony, 
or breach of tlie peace. 

Art. VI. — No state, without the consent of the United States in congress 
assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, or enter into 
any conference, agreement, alliance, or treaty with any king, prince, or state ; 
nor shall any person holding any office of profit or trust under the United States, 
or any of them, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind 
whatever from any king, prince, or foreign state ; nor s^hall the United States in 
congress assembled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility. 

No two or more states shall enter into any treaty, confederation, or alliance 
whatever between them, withf.ut the consent of the United States in congress 
assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the same is to be entered 
into, ^nd how long it shall continue. 

No state shall Ipv any imposts or duties, which may interfere with any sfipu 
lations ir treaties, entered into by the United States in congress assembled, with 
any King, prince, or state, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by con- 
gress, to the courts of France and Spain. 

No vessels of war shall be ke|»t up in time of peace by any state, except such 
Dumber only as shall be deemed necessary by the United States in congress 
assembled, for the defence of such state or its trade ; nor shall any body of forces 
be kept up by any state in time of peace, except such number only as, in the 
judgment of the United States, in congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite 
to garrison the forts necessary for tlie defence of such state ; but every state 
shall always keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed 
and accoutred, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public 
stores, a due number of fieldpieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, 
ammunition, and canjp equipage. 

No state shall engage in any war without the consent of the United States in 
congress assembled, unless such state be actually invaded by enemies, or shall 
have received certain advice of a resolution being formed by some nation of In- 
dians to invade such state, and the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a 
delay, till the United States in congress assembled can be consulted : nor shall 
any state grant commissions to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque 
or reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the United States in con- 
gress assembled, and then only against the kingdom or state and the subjects 
thereof, against which war has been so declared, and under such regulations as 
shall be established by thw United States in congress assembled ; nnless such 
state be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted out for 
that occa ion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or until the United 
States in congress assembled shall determine otherwise. 

Art. VII. — When land forces are raised by any state for the common defence, 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 



845 



all officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by the logislatiire 
of each state respectively, by wlioni such forces shall be i aised, or in such man- 
lier as such state shall direct ; and all vacancies shall be filled up by the state 
which first made the ajipointment. 

Art. VIIL — All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred 
for the common defence or general welfare, and allowed by tlie United States in 
congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which sliall be 
supplied by the several states, in proportion to tlie value of all l.md within each 
state, granted to or surveyed for any person, as such land and the buildings 
and improvements thereon shall be estimated, according to sucli nnxle as the 
United States in congress assembled shall from time to time direct and 
appoint. 

The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority 
and direction of the legislatures of the several states, within the time agreed 
upon by the United States in congress assembled. 

Art. IX — The United States in congress assembled shall have the sole and 
exclusive rh^ht and power of determining on peace and war, except in the cases 
mentioned in the sixth article — of sending and receiving ambassadors — entering 
into treaties and alliances, provitled that no treaty of ct»mmeree shall be made, 
whereby the legislative p(twer of the respective states shall be restrained from 
imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners, as their own people are subjected 
to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species of goods or 
commodities whatsoever — of establishing rules for deciding, in all cases, what 
captures on land or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by 
land or naval forces in the service of the United States shall be divided or ap- 
propriated—of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace — 
appointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas — and establishing coin ts for receiving and determining finally appeals in all 
cases of captures, provided that no member of congress shall be appointed a 
judge of any of the said courts. 

The United States in congress assembled shall also be the last resort on appeal 
in all disputes and differences now subsisting, or that liereafter may arise bfr* 
tweon two or more states, concerning boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause 
whatever; which authority shall always be exercised in the manner following. 
Whenever the legislative or executive authority, or lawful agent of any state in 
controversy with another, shall present a petition to congress, stating the mat 
ter in question, ami praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order 
of congress to the legislative or executive authority of the otlier state in con- 
troversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the parties by their lawful 
agents, who shall then be directed to appoint, by joint consent, commissioners or 
judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in question , 
out if they cannot agree, congress shall name three persons out of each of the Uni- 
ted States, and from the list of such persons eacn party shall alternately strike out 
one, the petitioners beginning, until the nuuiber shall be reduced to tliii'teen ; 
and tVom that number not less than seven, nor more than nine names, as congress 
shall direct, shall in the pre ence of congress be drawn out by lot, and the persons 
whose names shall be so drawn, or any five of them, shall be commissioners or 
judges, to hear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major pai t of 
the judges who sliall hear the cause shall agree in the determination; and if 
either i>arty shall Vieglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing rea- 
sons which congress shall judge sufficient, or being present shall refuse to strike, 
the congress shall proceed to nomiiuite three persons out of each state, and the 
secretary of congress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing ; and 
the judi^ment anil sentence of the court to be appointed, in the manner before 
prescribed, shall be final and conclusive; and if any of the parties shall refuse to 
submit t<» the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or 
cause, tlie coiu't shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, or judgment, 
which shall in like manner be final and decisive; the judgment or seiitence and 
other proceedings being in either case transmitted to congress, and lodged among 



846 



APPENDIX. 



the acts of congress, for the security of the parties concerned ; provided that 
every commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an oatli, to be ad- 
ministered by one of the judges of the supreme or supei i< r court of the state 
where the cause shall be tried, ''well and truly to hear and determine the matter 
in question, according to the best of his jndiitnent, v.ithont favour, ojjection, or 
hope of reward provided also that no state shall be deprived of territory for the 
benefit of the United States. 

All controversies concerning the private right of soil, claimed under different 
grants of two or more states, whose jurisdictions, as tiicy may respect such lands, 
and the states which j)asged such giants, are adjusted, the said grants or either 
of them being at the same time claimed to have originated {intet edent to sucli 
settlement of jurisdiction, shall, on the j etition of either party to the congress 
of the United States, be fijially dttei mined as near as may be in the same man- 
ner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction 
between tlifferent states. 

The United States in congress assembled shall also have the sole and exclu- 
sive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by tlieir 
own authoiity,or by that of the respective states — fixing the stiindard of weights 
and measures throughout the United J>tate.^ — regulatirig the triune and man- 
aging all affairs with the Indians, not ni<niber.^ of any of the states, i^iovided 
that the legislative right of any state within its own limits be not inf ingtd or 
violated — establishing and regulating post-offices from one etfite to nnothcr, 
throughout all the United States, and exacting such postage on the papers pass- 
ing through the same as may be requisite to defray tlie expenses of tlie said 
office — appointing all officers of the land forces in the service of tlie United 
States, excepting regimental <-fficers — appointing all the officers of the naval 
forces.- and commissioning all officers whatever in the service of the United 
States — making rules for the government and regulation of the said land and 
naval forces, and directing their operations. 

The United States in congress assembled shall have authority to appoint a 
committee, to sit in the recess of congress, to be denominated "a Committee of 
the States," and to consist of one delegate from each state ; and to appoint such 
other committee and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general 
affairs of the United States under their direction — to appoint one of their num- 
ber to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of Pres- 
ident more than one year in any tei m of three years ; to ascertain the necessary 
sums of money to be raised lor the service of the United btates, and to appro- 
priate and ajiply the same for defraying the public expenses — to borrow money, 
or emit bills on the credit of the United States, transmitting every half year to 
the respective states an account of the sums of money so borrowed or remitted 
— to build and equip a navy — to agree upon the number of land forces, and to 
make requisitions from each state for its quota, in proportion to the number of 
white inhabitants in such state ; which requisitions shall be binding, and there- 
upon the legislature of each state shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the 
men, and clothe, arm, and equip them in a soldier-like manner, at the expense 
of the United States ; and the officers and men so clothed, armed, and equipped, 
shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United 
States in congress assembled : but if the United States in congress assembled 
shall, on consideration of circumstances, judge proper that any state should not 
raise men, or should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any other 
state should raise a greater number of men than the quota thereof, such extra 
number shall be raised, officered, clothed, armed, and equipped in the same man- 
ner as the quota of such state, unless the legislature of such state shall judge 
that such extra number cannot be safely spared out of the same, in which case 
they shall rais<>, officer, clothe, arm, and equip as many of such extra number as 
they judge can be safely spared. And the officers and men so clothed, armed, 
and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed 
on by the United States in congress assembled. 

The United States in congress assemViled shall never engage in a war, nor grant 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 



847 



letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into treaties or alli- 
ances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and 
expenses necessary for the defence and welfare of the United States, or any o^ 
them, nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the United States, nor 
appropriate money, nor agree upon the number of vessels of war to be built or 
purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a com- 
mander in chief of the army or navy, unless nine states assent to the same : nor 
shall a question on any other point, except for adjourning from day to day, be 
determined, unless by the votes of a majority of the United States in congress 
assembled. 

The congress of the United States shall have power to adjouru to any time 
within the year, and to any place within the United States, so that no period of 
adjournment be for a longer duration than the space of six months ; and shall 
publish the journal of their proceedings monthly, except such parts thereof re- 
lating to treaties, alliances, or military operations, as in their judgment require 
secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the delegates of each state on any question 
shall be entered on the journal, when it is desired by any delegate ; and the del- 
egates of a state, or any of them, at his or their request, shall be furnished with 
a transcript of the said journal, except such parts as are above excepted, to lay 
before the legislatures of the several states. 

Art. X — The committee of the states, or any nine of them, shall be author- 
ized to execute, in the recess of congres'*, such of the powers of congress as the 
United States in congress assembled, by the consent of nine states, shall from 
time to time think expedient to vest them with ; provided that no power be 
delegated to the said committee, for the exercise of which, by the Articles of 
Confederation, the voice of nine states in the congress of the United States 
assembled is requisite. 

Art. XI. — Canada acceding to this confederation, and joining in the measures 
of the United States, shall be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages 
of this union ; but no other colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such 
admission be agree ! to by nine states. 

Art. XII. — All bills of credit emitted, moneys borrowed, and debts contracted 
by, or under the authority of congress, before the assembling of the United States, 
in pursuance of the present confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a 
charge against the United States, for payment and satisfaction whereof, the said 
United States and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged. 

Art. XIII. — Every state shall abide by the determinations of the United 
States in congress assembled on all questions which by this confederation are 
submitted lo them. And the articles of this confederation shall be inviolably 
observed by every state, and the union shall be perpetual ; nor shall any alter- 
ation at any time hereafter be made in any of them, unless such alteration be 
agreed to by a congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by 
the legislatures of every state. 

And whereas it hath pleat^ed the great Governor of the World to incline the 
hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in congress to approve of and 
to authorize us to ratify the said articles of confederation and perpetual union ; 
KNOW YE, that we, the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and au- 
thority to us given for that purpose, do by these presents, in the name and 
in behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and confirm 
each and every of the said articles of confederation and perpetual union, and all 
and singular the matters and things therein contained: and we do further sol- 
emnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall 
abide by the determinations of the United 'States in congress assembled, on all 
questions which, by the said confederation, are submitted to them ; and that the 
articles thereof shall be i»violably observed by the states we respectively repre- 
sent, and that the union shall be perpetual. 

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands in congress. Done at 
Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania, the ninth day of July, in the year of 



848 APPENDIX. 

our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight, and in the tliird year 
of the independence of America. 

On the part and lehalf of the State of New Hampshire. 

JOSIAH BAKTLETT, JOHN WENTWOETH, Jun., August 8, 1778, 

On the part and heJialf of the State af Massachusetts Bey. 

JOHN HANCOCK, ELBKIDGE GEKRY, JAMES LOVELL, 

SAMUEL ADAMS, FKANCIS DANA, SAMUEL HOLTEN. 

On the part and Ithalf of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

WILLIAM ELLERY, HENEY MAECHANT, JOHN COLLINS. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Connecticut. 

ROGER SHERMAN, OLIVER AVOLCOTT, ANDREW ADAMS, 

SAMUEL HUNTINGTON, TITUS HOSMER. 

On the part and hehalf of tlue State of New Fork. 

J AS. DUANE, ERA. LEWIS, WM. DUER, GOUV. MOREIS 

On the part and behalf of the State of New Jersey. 

JNO. WITHERSPOON, November 26, 1778, NATH. SCUDDEK, do. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Pennsylvania. 

EOBT. MOERTS, JON A. BAYARD SMITH, JOS. EEED, 22d July, 1778, 
DANIEL ROBERDEAU, WILLIAM CLING AN. 

On the part and behalf qf the State of Delaware. 

THOS. M'KEAN, Feb. 13, 1779, NICHOLAS VAN DYKE. 

JOHN DICKINSON, May 5, 1779. 

On the part and behalf cf ih* State of Maryland. 

JOHN HANSON, March 1, 1781, DANIEL CARROLL, do. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Virginia. 

RICHARD HENRY LEE, THOS. ADAMS, FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE. 
JOHN BANISTER, JNO. HARVIE. 

On the part and be,i.\lf of the State of North Carolina. 

JOHN PENN, July 21, 1778. CORNS. HARNETT, JNO. WILLIAMS. 

On the part and behalf of the State of South Carolina. 

HENEY LAUEENS, JNO. MATTHEWS, THOS. HEYWAED, Jun., 
WILLIAM HENEY DEAYTON, EiCHAKD HUTS ON. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Georgia. 

JNO. WALTON, 24th July, 1778. ED WD. TELFAIE, 

EDW. LANGWOETHY. 

riV><e.— From the circumstance of delegates from the same state having signed the Articles Confed- 
erati m at different times, as appears by the dates, it is probable they affixed their nameb as tkey hapyened 
to be preaent in congress, after they had been authorized by their constituents.] 



CHS 



FAEEWELL ADDRESS 

OF 

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



Friends and Fellow- Citizens : — 

The period for a new election of a citizen, to administer the executive 
government of the United States, being not far distant, and the time actually 
arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who 
is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially 
ad it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I 
should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being con- 
sidered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made. I 
beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be assured, that this resolu- 
tion has not been taken, without a strict regard to all the considerations apper- 
taining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country; and that, 
in withdrawing the tender of service which silence in my situation might imply, 
I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future interest — no deficiency 
of grateful respect, for your past kindness; but am supported, by a full convic- 
tion that the t^tep is compatible with both. 

The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to which your 
Buffiages have twice called me, have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to 
the opinion of duty, and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. 
I constantly ho| ed, that it would have been much earlier in my power, con- 
sistently with motives which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that 
retirement from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my in 
clinatiori to do this, previous to the last election, had even led to the prepara 
tion of an address to declare it to you; but mature reflection on the then per- 
plexed and critical posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous 
advice of persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon the idea. 

I rejoice lhat the state ol your concerns, external as well as internal, no 
longer renders the pursuit of inclination incompatible with the sentiments of 
duty or propriety; and am persuaded, whatever partiality may be retained for 
my services, that in the present circumstances of our country, you will not dis- 
approve my determination to retire. 

The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous trust, were ex- 
plained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say, 
that 1 have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and 
administi ation of the government, the best exertions of which a very fallible 
judgment was capable. Not unconscious, in the outset^ of the inferiority of 
iny qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of 
others, has etreuiithened the motive to diffidence of myself; and, every day, the 

849 



850 



FAKEWELL ADDRESS OF GEOBGE WASHIXGTOX. 



increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the shade of re- 
:irenietit is as neces-ary to me as it will be welcome. Sati fied that if any 
circumstances have given peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, 
I have tiie consulation to believe, that while choice and prudence invite me to 
quit the ]).)1 tical sceni', patriotism does not forbid it. 

In looking lorward to the moment, which is intended to terminate the 
career ot my public lif •, my f eiing? do not permit me to suspend the d»^ep 
ackno\vled_^m nt of that dc-bt of gratitode which I owe to my beloved country, 
for ihe many honors it has conferred upon me ; stid more for the s'eadtast con- 
tidence with wh ch it has supported me; and for the opportunities 1 have 
thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by 8ervic*;s faithf ;1 
and j ersevermg, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits have re- 
Bulte:] to our country from these S'l-rviues, let it always be rememl;ered to your 
praise, and as an instruc:ive example in our annals, that under cirLUmstancea 
m which the passions, agitated in every directio i, were liable to mislead, amidst 
appearances .-ometimes dubi .us — vici.-situdes of fortune often discouraging — in 
situatioc. in which not unfrequenily want of success has countenanced the spirit 
of criticism — the constancy of your suoport was the essential prop of the efforts, 
and a guarantee of the plans l)y which they were effected. 

Profoundly pen. trated with tliis idea, 1 shall carry it with me to my grave 
as a strong ircitemrnt to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the 
choicest tokens of its beneticeoc-- — thnt your union and brotherly affection may 
be per])etual-^that the free constitution, which is the work of your hands, may 
be sacredlj maintained — that its administration in every department may be 
stamped with wisdom and virtue — that, in fine, the happiness of the people of 
these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so care 
ful a preservation and so prudent a use of tliis blessing, as will acquire to them 
the gioiy of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and the adoption ot 
every nation which is yet a stranger to it- 
Here perhaps I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which 
cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that 
solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn con- 
templation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments, which 
are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderab.e observation, and which 
appear to me all important to the permanency of your felicity a?, a people. 
Tliese will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in 
them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no 
personal motives to bias his counsel Nor can I forget as an encouragement to 
it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar 
occasion. Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your 
hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the 
attachment. 

The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now 
dear to you. It is justly so ; for it is a main pidar in the edifice of your real 
independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad ; of 
your safety ; of your prosperity ; of that very liberty which you so highly 
pI•iz'^ But as it is easy to foresee, that from different causes and from differ- 
ent quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in 
your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political 
fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be 
most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiousl}') directed, 
it is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense valn<» 
of vour national union to your collective and individual happiness; that you 
should cherish a corditi, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustom- 
ing j-ourselves to think and to speak of it as the Palladium of your political 
safety and prosperity ; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a sus- 
picion th;it it can in any event be abandoned ; and indignantly frowning upon 
the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country 
*Tom the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together th« 
various partd. 



FATl-WELL ADDRESS OF GEOEGK WASHTXGTO.V. 



851 



For this yon have ev^ry inducement of sympathy and interes"-. Citizens, 
by birth or choice, of n co ; mon country, t'lat country lias a right to < oucen- 
trate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to yo i in your 
national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism, more than 
anv appellat on derived f o n local discriminations. With sliglit shades of dif- 
ference, you have the same relis^ion, mannrrs, liabits, and political principles. 
rt)U have in a common cause fought and triumphed together ; the independence 
and liberty you possess are the work: cf oint counsels and j"iut etfo: ts, of 
common danger, sufferings, and .-ucee-s. But these considerations, however 
powerfully they address th mselves to yo:ir -ensibili y, are greatly outwei-^hed 
by those which apply m.>re immed ately to your i .terest Here every portion 
oi' our country fin'ls the mo,-t commanding motives for carefully guarding and 
preserving the union uf the whole. 

The Xurih, in an unrestra.ned intercourse Tvith the South, protected by 
the ^-qual laws of a common government, rinds in the productions of the latter, 
great addirional resources of maritime and commei cial enterprise, and prei-ior^j 
materials of manufacturing industry. The S"uth, in the same intereourse, 
beneriting by the agency of the JVor/h, sees its agriculture grow, and its C'lrn- 
merce expand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the North, 
it finds its particular navigation invigoi'ated ; and while it contributes, i;i dif- 
ferent ways, to nourish and increase the general mass of the national naviga- 
tion, it looks forward to the protection of a mai itime strength, to which itself 
is unequally adapted. The East, in a like in'ercouise with the West, already 
finds, and in the progressive improvement of interior communications, by land 
and water, will more and more fi;;d, a valuable vent for the commodities which 
it brings from abroad, or manufactures iit home. The West derives from the 
East supplies requi-ite to its gri^wth and comfort ; and what is perhaps of still 
greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secv.re enjoyment of intiis- 
pensable outlets for its own prod ictions to the weight, influence, and the fu'ure 
uiarilime strength of the A lantic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble 
co!iimunity of interest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the West can 
hold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength, 
or from an apostare and unnatural connection with any foreign power, mi:st be 
intrinsically precarious. 

While then every part of our country thus feels an immediate and par- 
ticular interest m union, all the parties combined cannot fail to find in the unired 
mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably 
greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their 
peace by foreign nations; and, what is of inestimable value, they must derive 
from union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which 
so frequently afflict neighboring countries, not tied together by the same govern- 
ment; whieh their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but 
which opposite alliances, attachments, and intrigues, would stimulate and em- 
bitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown 
military establishments which, under any form of government, are inauspicious 
to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican 
liberty ; in this sense it is, that your union ought to be considered as a main 
prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear you to the 
preservation of the other. 

These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and 
virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the union as a primary object of 
patriotic desire. Is there a doubt, whether a common government can embrac-e 
so large a sphere? Lh experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in 
such a case were criminal We are at.'.horized to hope that a proper organiza- 
tion of the whole, with the auxiliary agency of governments for the respective 
subdivisions, will afford a happv issue to the experiment. 'Tis well worth a 
fair and full experiment. With "such powerful and obvious motives to union, 
affecting all parts of our country, while experience shall not have demonstiated 
its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism ol 
thoi^e, who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands. 



852 FAREWELL ADDRESS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



In contemplating the causes that may disturb our union, it occurs as a 
noatter of serious concern, that any ground should have I'cen furnished for 
characterizing parties hy geographical discriminations — Northern and Southern — 
Atlantic and Wefitern ; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief 
that there is a real difference of local interest and vit-ws. One of tl)e expedients 
of party to acquire influence, within particular districts, is to niisrepiesent the 
opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourself too much 
against the jealousies and heart-burnings which spring from these misrepresen 
tations: they tend to render alien 1o each other those who ought to be bound 
together by fraternal affection. The inhabitants of our westei-n country have 
lately had a useful lesson on this head : they have seen in the negotiaiion hy 
the executive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the treaty 
with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that event throughout the 
United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were the su-picions propagated 
among them of a policy in the general government and in the Atlantic States, 
unfriendly to their interest in regard to the Mississippi ; they have been wit- 
nesses to the formation of two treaties that with Great Britain and that with 
Spain, which secure to them every thing they could desire, in respect to our 
foreign relations, towards confirming their prosperity Will it not be their 
wisdom to rely for the pres'^rvation of these advantages on the union by which 
they were procured? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, if 
such there are, who would sever them from their brethren and connect them 
with aliens ? 

To the efficacy and permanency of your union, a government for the whole 
is indispensable. No alliances, however strict, between the parts, can be an 
adequate substitute : they must inevitably experience the infractions and inter- 
ruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this 
momentous truth, you have improved your first essay, by the adoption of a 
conbtitution of government better cahnilated than your former, for an intimate 
union, and for the efficacious manngement of your common concerns. This 
govertiment, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted 
upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its princi 
pies, in the distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and con 
taining within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to 
jrour confidence and your support Respect for its authority, compliance with 
:t8 laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental 
maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political system is the right of the 
people to make and alter their constitutions of government. But, the consti- 
tution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act 
of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea «f the 
power and the right of the people to establish government, presupposes the 
duty of every individual to obey the established government. 

All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associa- 
tions, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, con- 
trol, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted 
authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. 
They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force, 
— to put in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, 
often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the comm mity ; and ac 
cording to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public ad- 
ministration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, 
rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common 
counsels, and modified by mutual interests. However combinations or associa- 
tions of the above description may now a -id then answer popular ends, they are 
likely ^n the course of time and things to become potent engines, by which 
cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men, will be enabled to subvert the power 
of the people, and to usurp to themselves the reins of government ; destroying 
afterwards the very energies which have lifted them to unjust dominion. 

Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your 
present, bannv state, it b requisite. at>t onlv that yoa steadily discountenance 



FAREWELL ADDRESS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



853 



hre^ilar oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you re- 
sist with Care the spirit of innovation upoa its principles, however specious 
the pretext. One method of assault raay be to efiect, in the forms of the con- 
stitution, alteiations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus tc 
undeim ne what cannot bd overthi-owu. In all the changes to which you may 
be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to lix the 
true character of governments, as of otlier human institutions — that experience 
in the sui'C-t standard by which to te^t the real tendency of the exist. ng con- 
stituiion of a country — that facility in changes upon the credit of mere hypo» 
thesis and opinion, exposes to perp-tual change, from the endless variety of 
hypothesis and opininn ; and remember especially, that for the etScieut manage- 
ment of your common interests, lu a country so extensive as ours, a government 
of as much vigor as is consistent with tJie perfect security of liberty, is iudi;*- 
pensable. Liberty itself' will tind in such a government, with powers properly 
distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else tlian a 
name where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterpiisos of 
faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by 
the law, and to maintain all in the sejjure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights 
of person and pioi erty. 

I have already intimated to you, the danger of parties in the state, with 
particular refereno-e to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. 
Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn 
manner against tlie baneful etfects of the spirit of party generally. This spirit, 
unfortunately, is inseparable fro !i our n.iture, having its root in the stro..gest 
passions of the human mind. — it exists under dirfereat shapes in all govern- 
meuta, more or le^s ttifled, controlled, or repressed ; but in those of the popular 
ibrm, it is seen in its greatest rankness, ana is truly the.r worst enemy. Tht; 
alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of 
revenge, natural to party dissension, which, in different ages and countries, ha* 
perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself frightful despotism. But this 
leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and 
miseries which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and 
repose in the absolute power of an individual ; and sooner or later the chief of 
some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors^ 
turns this disposiiion to the purposes of Iiis own elevation, on the ruins of 
public hberty. 

"Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, (which neverthe- 
less ought not to be entirely out of sight,) the common and continual mis 
ehiefs oi the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a 
wise peoj)le to discourage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the 
public Counsels and enfeeble the pub ic administration. It agitates the com- 
munity with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms ; kindles the animosity of 
one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection, It opens 
the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to 
the government itself tlirough the channels of party passions. Thus the policy 
and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another. 

There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon 
the administratiuu of the government, and serve to keep alive the spirit of 
liberty. This within certain limits is probably true ; and in governments of a 
monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon 
the spirit of party. But m those of a popular character, in governments purely 
elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is 
certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. 
And there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, by force of 
public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it A fire not to be quenched, it de- 
mands a uniform vigilance t-o prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead o^ 
warming, it should consume. 

It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking, in a free country, 
should inspire caution in those intrusted with its administration, to confine 
themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exer- 



854 FAREWELL ADDEESS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



else of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit oi 
encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, 
and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A 
just estimate of tliat love of power, and proiieaess to abuse it, which pre- 
dominates in the human heart, is i^uf^icient to satisfy us of the truth of this posi- 
tion. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by 
dividing and distributing it into different depositories, and constituting each 
the guardian of public weal against invasions by others, has been evinced by 
experiments ancient and modern, some of them in our country and under our 
own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to in.-titute them. If, in 
the opinion of tlie people, the distribution or mollification of the constitnlional 
[)owers be in any particular wrong, let it be eorrected by an amen iment in 
the way which the consstitution designates. But let there be no char)ge by 
usurpation; for though tliis, in one instance, may be the instrument of gooii, it 
is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The pre- 
cedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or 
transient benefit which the use can at any time yield. 

Of all the dispositions and liabits which lead to political prosperity, reli- 
gion and morality are indispens ible supports. — In vain would that man claim 
the tribute of patriotism, wtio siiould labor to subvert these great pillars of 
human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The 
mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish 
them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public 
felicity. Let it simply be asked, where is the security for property, for reputa- 
tion, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the 
instruments of investigation in courts of ju?tice ; and let us with caution indulge! 
the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever 
may be conceded to t,he influence of refined education on minds of peculiar 
structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national moral- 
ity can prevail in exclusion of reliuioiis principle. 'Tis substantially true, that 
virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule in- 
deed extends with more or less force to every species of free government. 
Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indiflference upon attempts to 
shake the foundation of the fabric? 

Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the 
general diffusion of knowledge In proportion as the structure of a govern- 
ment gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be 
enlightened. As a very important source of strength and security, cherish 
public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible j 
avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace ; but remembering also that 
timely disbursements to prepare for danger, frequently prevent much greater 
disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulations of debt, not 
only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of 
peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not 
ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought 
to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives, but 
it is necessary that public opinion should co-operate. To facilitate to them 
the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in 
mind that towards the payment of debts there must be revenue ; to have re 
venue there must be taxes; that no luxes can be aevised which ate not more 
or less inconvenient and unple«oaijL , that the intrinsic embarrassment insepar- 
able from the selection of the propel object (which is always a choice of diffi- 
culties) ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the con- 
duct of the government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in 
the measures for obtaining revenue which the public emergencies may at any 
time dictate. 

Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and 
harmony with all : religion and morality enjoin this conduct ; and can it be 
tliat good policy does not equally enjoin it ? It will be worthy of a free, en- 
lightened, and, at no distant period, a gi-eat nation, to give to mankind tha 



FABEWELL ADDRESS OF GEOEGE WASHINGTON. 855 



naagnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted 
justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that in the course of time and 
things, the fi-uits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantagee 
which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? Can it be, that Providence 
has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue ? The 
axperiment at least is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human 
nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices ? 

In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential than that per- 
manent inveterate antipatlaies against particular nations, and passionate attach- 
ments for others, should be excluded ; and that in place of them just and 
amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation wliich indulges 
towards another an hubitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree 
a slave. It is a slave to its an raosity, or to its affection, either of which ia 
sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one 
nation against another disposes each more readily to offer insult aud injury, to 
lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when 
accidental or trifling occasions ot dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions, 
obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. The nation, prompted by ill-will 
and resentment, sometimes impels to war the governmenr, contrary to tlie best 
calculations of policy. The government sometimes participates in the national 
propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other 
times it makes the aninaosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility 
instigated by pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The 
peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of nations has been the victim. 

So lii<ewise a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a 
variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of 
an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists, 
and iniusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a 
participation in the quarrels aud wars of the latter, without adequate induce- 
ment or justitication. It leads also to the concession to the favorite nation of 
]>rivilege8 denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the 
concessions, — by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, 
and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties 
from whom equal privileges are witaheld; and it gives to ambitious, corrupted, 
or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation) facihty to 
betray or sacritice the interests of their own country, without odium, some- 
times even with popularity ; gilding with the appearances of a virtuous sense of 
obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for 
public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation. 

As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, such attachments are 
particularly alarming to the truly enlightened aud independent patriot. How 
many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practice 
the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public 
councils ! Such an attachment of small or weak, towards a great and power- 
ful nation, dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter. — Ag-iinst the in- 
sidious wiles o.f foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens), 
the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake ; since history and 
experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of 
republican government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial: 
else it becomes the instrument ot the very influence to be avoided, instead of a 
defence against it. — Excessive partiality lor one foreign nation, and excessive 
dislike of another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one 
side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. — 
Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become 
suspected aud odious; while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and con- 
fldence of the people, to surrender their interests. The great rule of conduct 
for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, 
to have witli them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have 
already formed engagements, let them be fulfllled with perfect good faith. — 
Hero let ut> ttop. 



856 



FAREWELL ADDRESS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very 
remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, .h 
causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, i' 
must be unwise iu us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties, in tlie ordinary 
Ticissitudcn of iier politics, or the ordinary conibmations and collisions of ht-r 
friendships or enmities. Our detached and distant situation invites and enables 
us to pursue a diflferent course, it' we remain one people, under an efficient 
government, the period is not far off, when we may defy material injuiy from 
external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cnuse the 
neutrality wc may at anytime resolve upon to be scrupulously respected ; 
when beJligerent nations, under the impossibility of luaking acquisitions upon 
us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; wheu We may choose 
peace or war, as our interest, gunled hy justice, shall counsel. 

Why forego the advaiitiiges of so peculiar a situation ? Why quit our own 
to stand upon foreign grcnind? Why, by niterweaving our destiny with that 
of any part of Europe, entangle our jieace and pr^spei ity in the toils of Eu- 
ropean ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice ? 'Tis our true policy 
to steer clear of permanent allianLCS with any portion of tlie foreign world; 
BO far, 1 mean, as we are now ut liberty to do it; for let me not be understood 
as capable of patronizing inhdelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim 
MO le.-s a])plicable to public tlmn to private atfairs, that honesty is always the 
best policy. I repeat it, then- fore, let those engagements be observed in their 
genuine sense. But, in my o]Minon, it is uniiece-sar}-, and would he unwise, to 
extend them. Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establiah- 
menis, on a respectab e defensive posture, we nia} safel}' trust to temporary 
alliances for extraordinary emergencies. 

Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, 
humanity, and interest. But even our conuiitrcial po.icy should hold an equal 
and impartial hand ; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or pre- 
ferences; consulting the natural course of tlungs ; diffusing and uiversifying by 
gentle means the streams of commerce, but h rcing nothing; establishing with 
powers so disposed, in order to give trade a stable course, to detine the rights 
of our merchants, and to enable the government to sup[.ort them, conventional 
rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual ojiuion 
will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to time varied, as ex- 
perience or circumsiauoes shall dictate : constantly keeping in view, that 'tis 
loily in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it must 
pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that 
character; that by such acceptance, it may place itselr in the condition of 
having given equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached w.th 
ingratitude tor not giving more. There cm be no greater error than to ex- 
pect, or calculate upon real favors from nation to natitjii. "lis an illusion 
which experj'en''e must cure, which a just pride ought to discard. 

In otieiing to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate 
friend, i dare not hope they will make the strong and la-ting impression i 
could wisli; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent 
our natiou trom running the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of 
nations : but, if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of 
some partial benefit, some occasional good ; that they may now and then recur 
to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign 
intrigues, and guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism ; this hope 
will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they 
have been dictated. H(.)W f.ir, in the discharge of my official duties, I have 
been guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public records 
and other cvi .ences of my conduct, must witness to you and to the world. To 
myself, the assurance ot my own conscience is, that 1 have at least believed 
myself to be guided by them. 

In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my proclamation of the 22d 
of April, 17y3, is the index to my plaa Sanctioned by your approving voice, 
auu by that of }our reD''HS«ntative8 iu borl» ^x<, u>«.s «f cx>ngress, the spirit ol 



FAREWELL ADDRESS OF GEORGE WASHINGTO.S^. 857 



that measure has continually governed me, uninfluenced by any attempt to 
deter or divert me from it. After deliberate examination, with the aid of the 
best lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all the 
circumstances ot" the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty and 
interest, to take a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as 
ebould depend upon me, to maintain it, with moderation, perseverance, and 
firmness, 

Tlie consideration which respects the right to hold the conduct, it is not ne- 
cessary on this occasion to detail. I will only observe, that according to my 
understanding of the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of the 
belligei-ent powers, has been virtually adniitte i by all The duty of holding a 
neutral conduct may be inferred, withoiit any thing more, from the obligation 
which justice and humanity impose upon every nation, in cases in which it is 
free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and amity towards 
other nations. The inducements of interest for observing that conduct will 
best be referred to your own reflections and exj)erience. With me, a predomi- 
nant motive has been to endeavor to gain time to our country to settle and 
mature its yel recent institutions, and to progress without interruption, to that 
degree of strength and consistency, which is necessary to give it, humanly 
speaking, the coaim uid of its own fortunes. 

Thougii, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of 
intentional error, I am nevertheless Uyo sensible of my defects not to think it 
probable that I have committed many errors. Whatever they n)ay be, I 
fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they 
may tend. I shall al-o carry with me the hope that my country will never 
cease to view tliem with indulgence ; and that after forty-five years of my life 
dedicated to its service, with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities 
will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. 
Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent 
love towards it, which is so natural to a man who views in it the native soil of 
himself and his progenitoi s for several generations ; I anticipate with pleasing 
expectation that retreat, in which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, 
the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the l)enign 
influence of good laws under a free government — the ever favorite object of 
my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual care, labors, aci 
dungem 

G. WASHINGTON 



POrULATIOX OF ALL THE COUNTIES K THE 
OITED STATES, 

ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1860. 



.\LUNE. 

AnvVos<Mggin 29.725 

Aroos:ook 22.41 y 

Cumix'rUuid 75.592 

Franklin ■2«).4<;t3 

Han<x>ck 37.75S 

Kennebec 55.655 

Knox 32.716 

Lincoln 27.S54 

O.xfoid 36i69S 

Penobscot 72.731 

Piscataquis 1 5.<»32 

S;iga.lahock 21.T9«^ 

Somerset 36.754 

Waldo 3S.447 

Washington 42.535 

York..: 6il07 

Total Co. 16, In. 62S.276 

Nhw Hampsehrk. 

Belkn-.p iac4S 

Carr.):; 20.4<>4 

Cheshire 2T.4;>4 

Coos ■2 j 

Grafton 4:j.j5^ j 

Morrimaok 41.44jS | 



N"ETr EXG-LAXD. 

Straffoni 31.494 

Sullivan 19.041 

Total Co. 10. In 326.072 

Yeemoxt. ' 

Addison 24.010 

Bennington 19.435 

Caledonia 21.70S 

Chinenden 2S.171 ! 

Essex .. 5.7S6 

Franklin 27.241 

Grand Isle 4296 

La Moille 11311 

Orange 25.455 , 

Orleans lS,9r2 

Entland 35.949 

Washington 27.614 ! 

Windham 26.9 >3 

Windsor 37.195 | 

Total Co. 14. In 315.116 

ilASSACHTSETTS, 

Barnstable 35.990 

Berkshire 55.120 

Bristol 93.795 

Dukes 4.4<V3 [ 

Essex 165.610 | 

Franklin 31.434 [ 



Hampden 57.36! 

Hampshire 37.824 

Middlesex 216.351 

Nantneket 6.i)&4 

Norfolk 109.950 

Plvmouth 64.763 

Smfolk 192.701 

Worcester 159.660 

Total Co. 14, In L231,065 

Rhode I3la>t). 

Bristol S.907 

Kent 17.303 

Newport 21.997 

Providence 107.799 

Washington IS. 71c 

TotalCo. 5. In 174,621 

CoxxBcncxrr. 

Fairfield 77.4T6 

Hartford S9.964 

Litchfield 47.317 

MidiUcsex 32.993 

New Haven 97.^47 

New London 57.422 

T..lland 21.187 

Windham 36.445 

Total Co. 8, In 460,151 



MIDDLE STATES. 



New York. 






l»Vi..V>0 




21.4S4 






M :i: . , 
New Y 


'.'.'.'.'.'.Sl:3.6.>S 


Washington 


.... 45.909 
47.762 


Aile^iii-v 

Broj.::r 

Can.a:^i;-ui 


41.^^■2 


N:- - 
O ^ - 


5«;'.oi>9 

1' '5.201 

90.6S7 


Westchester 

Yites...: 


.... 99.457 
31.967 
20.29: 


Cavu-.; 






44.N5n 






J^^-^^^^-l^^ 








Total Co. 6<3. In . . 


..3.SS0,T35 


Chenango 






New .Tt-p.spv 


Clinton'. 








11.736 


C^r::^n i 

Drl-^-v-^ 






Br-.-ren 


21.61S 

49.730 










D^::-.is 








.en 


34.457 










M:iy 


7.130 


Essex 










2'>605 


Franklin 

Fa:::.n 










9S,S75 

1S.444 

6-2.717 




^ ; .1 ■ifirie 




H 






^S.>^' 


Hm-:c-:;- 

Mercer 

Middlesex 


33.654 

37.411 

34.S10 


Hc!-K:-rr 








Je3c:'i .n 






4:?. -27-3 


M.'nmouth 


39.345 


Kinsi 








M.rr:; 


34.679 

11.176 

29.013 

22,45P 


UMn-iZoiL 

iJaalson 








(■^ce::!" 








PA^^.v:e 



858 



POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



859 



Somerset 22,057 

Sussex 23,855 

V\rarren 28,484 

Union 27,781 



Total Co. 21, In. 



.672,031 



Pex>-syiva>ta. 

Adams 28.012 

Alleghany 178.835 

Armstrong 3».797 

Beaver 29.144 , 



Bedford 26.73' 

Berks 93,819 

Blair 27.829 

Bradiord 48.735 

Bucks, &3.578 

Butlf^r 85,596 

Cambria 29.156 

Cameron (new Co.) 

Carbon 21.033 

Centre 27.100 

Chester 74.578 

Clarion 24,994 I 

Clearfield l6,75S 

Clinton 17,723 

Columbia 25,065 | 



Alleshany 2S.34S 

Anne Ai-undel 23.901 

Baltimore 266.554 

Calvert 10,447 

Caroline 11.129 

Carroll 24.5^32 

Cecil 23,863 

Charles 16.517 

Dorchester 20.461 

Frederick 46.576 

Harford 23.415 

Howard 13.338 

Kent 18.267 

Montgomery 18.322 

Prince George 23.327 

Queen Anne 15.961 

St. Marv's 15.214 

Somerset 24.992 

Talbot 14.795 

"Washington 31.414 

Worcester 20.661 

Total Co. 21, In 687,034 

DiSTEiCT OF Columbia- 

Washington 75,076 

Total Co. 1, In 75.076 

YiEGINIA. 

Accomack 18,586 

Albemarle 26. 625 

Alexandria 12.652 

Alleghany 6.765 

Amelia 10.753 

Amherst 13.743 

Appomattox 8,85i7 

Augusta 27.750 

Bai-bour 8.959 

Bath 3.676 

Bedford 25.068 

Berkeley 12.523 

Boone 4840 

Botetooi-t 11,516 



Crawford 

Cumberland 

Dauphin 

Delaware 

Elk 

Erie 

Fayette 

Forest 

Franklin . 

Fulton 

Greene 

Hxmtington 

Indiana 

J etferson 

Juniata 

Lancaster 1 

Lawrence 

Lebanon 

Lehigh 

Luzerne 

Lycoming 

McKean 

Mei-cer 

Mifflin 

Monroe 

Montgomery 

Montour 

Northampton 



48.755 
40,098 
46.757 
80.597 

5.915 
49.481 
89.909 
898 
42.128 

9.131 
2A.m 
•.^4.1ul 
33.687 
18.269 
16.9S6 
16.815 
22.999 
31.831 
43.754 
90.248 
87.398 

8.859 
86.857 
16.841 
16.759 
70,500 
13.053 
47.904 



Northumberland 28.892 

Perry 22.794 

Philadelphia 565.531 

Pike 7.155 

Potter 11.470 

Schuylkill 89.515 

Snyder 15.035 

Somerset 26.784 

Sullivan 5.637 

Susquehanna 86.267 

Tioga 31.045 

L'nion 14.145 

Yenanso 25.044 

Warren 19.190 

Washington 46.s04 

Y'ayne 3:^.279 

Westmoreland- 53.73G 

Wyoming 12.540 

York 6>.200 



Total Co. 66, In 2,906,870 

Delaware, 

Kent 27.801 

Newcastle 54.800 

Sussex 29.617 



Total Co. 3, In 112,218 



SOUTHERN STATES. 

Braxton 4.992 

Brooke 5.494 

Brunswick 14.811 

Buchanan (Stephens).. 2.793 

Buckinsham 15.212 

Cabell. S.020 

Calhoun 2.502 

Campbell 26.197 

Caroline 18,465 

Can-oil 8.012 

Charles City 5.609 

Charlotte 14,469 

Chesterfield 19.017 

Clarke 7,146 

Clay 1.787 

Craig 8.553 

Culpepper 12.064 

Cumberland 9.961 

Dinwiddic 8U.198 

Doddridge 5.203 

Elizabeth City 5,798 

Essex 10,469 

Fairfax 11,835 

Fauquier 21,704 

Fayette 5,997 

Floyd 8,236 

Fluvanna 10.358 

Franklin 20.U98 

Frederick 16.547 

Giles 6.888 

Gilmer 3.759 

Gloucester 10.956 

Goochland 10,656 

Grayson... 8.252 

Greonbrier 12.210 

Greene 5.025 

Greenville 6.374 

Halifax 26.521 

Hampshire 18.913 

Hancock 4.445 

Hanover 17.225 

Hardy 9.864 

Harrison 13.7 9 # 

Henrico 61,616 

Henry 12.1«i5 

Hishland 4.819 

Isle of Wight 9,977 



Jackson 8,806 

James City 5.79S 

Jetferson " 14.575 

Kanawha 16.150 

King and Queen 10.331 

! King George 6.571 

King William 8.529 

Lancaster 5,151 

Lee.. 11.032 

Le-ivis 7,999 

Logan 4938 

Loudon 21.772 

Louisa 16.69S 

Lunenburg 11.984 

McDowell 1.535 

Madison 8,854 

Marion 12.721 

Marshall 13.001 

Mason 9.185 

Matthews 7.091 

Mecklenburg 20,096 

Mercer 6.818 

Middlesex 4864 

Monongalia 13.048 

Monroe 10.757 

Montgomery 10.615 

Morgan 8.731 

Nansemond 13.693 

Nflsun 13.015 

New Kent 5.884 

Nicholas 4626 

Norfolk 86.158 

Northampton 7,832 

Northumberland. 7,530 

Noltawav 8.836 

Ohio.. ..■ 22.422 

Orange 10.706 

PageT 8,109 

Patrick 9.359 

Pendleton 6,165 

Plttsvlvania 32.104 

Pleasants 2.945 

Poeahontixs 3,958 

Powhattan 8.391 

Preston 13.312 

Prince Edward 11,844 

Piince George S,41i 



8G0 



POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



IMnce William 8,565 

Pi-incess Anne 7,714 

Pulaski 5.416 

; .,.iiaiii 6.301 



,367 



iililHl.ll! h 

Rappahannock 

Richmond - 

Ritchie 

Roane 



.. 4,990 
.. 8,850 
.. 6.856 
.. 6,847 
5 382 

Roanoke 8^048 

Rockhridse 17,250 

Rockingham 23.408 

Russell 10.180 

Scott (Davis) 12.072 

Shenandoah 13,f)96 

Smyth 8,952 

Southampton 12.914 

Sjiottsylvania 16.076 

Stalfovd 8,555 

Surry 6.i;33 

8u.ssex 10,175 

Taylor 7.463 

Tazewell 9.92i) 

Tucker 1.428 

Tyler 6.517 

Upshur 7.292 

Warren 6.442 

Wat'Nvick 1.74it 

Washington 16.893 

Wayne 6.747 

Webster 1.555 

Y*'' estmoreland 8.2S2 

Wetzel 6, .03 

Wirt 3.751 

Wise 4,508 

Wood 11,046 

Wyoming 2.N.65 

Wythe 12.305 

York 4,946 



Total Co. 148, lu . . . .1,596,079 

ifOBTU CaEOLXNA. 

Alamance 11,853 

Alexander 6,022 

Alleiihany 3,590 

Anson 13.664 

Ashe 7.956 

.Beaufort 14.779 

Bertie 14.311 

Bladen 11,995 

Brunswick 8,406 

Buncombe 12.654 

Burke... 9,237 

Cabarrus 10,546 

Caldwell 7.492 

Camden 5,343 

'tarternt 8,185 

Caswell 16,215 

Catawba 10.730 

Chatham ..19.105 

Chirokee 9.166 

Chowan 6. 842 

Cleaveland 12.348 

Columbus 8.597 

Cravftn 16,273 

Cumberland 16.369 

Currituck 7.416 

Davidson 16.601 

Davie 8.494 

Duplin 15,786 

Edcecomb . . . , 17.376 

Forsvth 12,691 

Franklin 14.110 

Gaston 9,810 

Gates 8,444 



Granville 23.896 

Greene 7.925 

Guilford 20.0.56 

Halifax 19.441 

Harnett 8,039 

Haywood 5.801 

Henderson l<i.448 

Hertford 9.5ii4 

Hvde 7.724 

Iredell 15.347 

Jackson 5.52s 

Johnson 15.657 

Jones 5.730 

Lenoir 10.211 

Lillington 6.285 

Linc(dn 8.195 

McDoM-ell 7,120 

Macon 6.1)1)4 

Madison 5.905 

Martm 10.189 

Mecklenburg 17.374 

Montffomorv 7 649 

.Mo.. re '. 11.4:^7 

Nash 11.6>b 

New Hanover 15.+ii 

Ni)rthami>tun 13.376 

OusImw 6>5i) 

Oian-e 16.949 

P.iSipK.tank S.941) 

T\-i q limans 7.24S 

PeiMtn 11.221 

Pitt 16.n&t) 

Polk 4.043 

Randolph 16.793 

Richmond 11.0()9 

Robeson 15.490 

Rockingham 16.746 

Rowan 145S6 

Rutherford 11.573 

Sampson 16.623 

Stanlv 7.S')1 

Stokes li).402 

Surrv 10.879 

Tvrrel 4,94^^ 

Union 11.202 

Wake 28.627 

Warren 15.7_'6 

Washington 6.357 

Watauga 4.957 

Wavne"^ 14.906 

Wilkes 14,749 

Wilson 9.720 

Yadkin 10.718 

Yancey 8.655 



Total Co. 87, In 992,667 

South Carolina. 
{Districts.) 



Abbeville 

Anderson 22 

Barnwell 

Beaufort 40 

Charleston 81. 

Chester 18 

Chesterfield 11. 

Clarendon 13, 

Cdleton 30 

Darlin£rt(m 20 

Edsefield 39, 

Fairfield 22. 

Georgetown 21, 

Greenville 21. 

Horry 7. 

Kershaw 13, 

Lancaster 11, 

Laurens 23, 



885 
.872 
.743 
052 
105 
128 
834 
.099 
.915 
.343 
,887 
.111 I 
,305 ^ 
.891 '■ 
9(34 ( 
169 
797 
S5S I 



Lexington 15.579 

Marion 21.190 

Marlboro' 12.434 

Newberry 2U.379 

Orangeburg 24.896 

Pickens 19,639 

Richland 18.334 

Sl)artanburg 26.920 

Sumter 23,860 

Union 19.635 

Williamsburg 1 5.489 

York 21.508 

Total Districts 30, In.. 703,812 

Geoegia. 

A])pling 4.190 

Baker T 4985 

Baldwin 9.078 

Banks 4.707 

Berrien 3.471 

Bibb 16.291 

Brooks 6.356 

Bryan 4.013 

Bulhtck 5. 668 

Burke 17,165 

Butts 6.455 

Calhoun 4.913 

Camden 5.420 

Campbell S.301 

Carroll 11.991 

Cass 15.724 

Catoosa 5.082 

Charlton 1.780 

Chatham 31.043 

Chattooga 7.^65 

Chattahoochie 5.806 

Cherokee 11.291 

Clarke 11.225 

Clav 4.893 

Clavton 4.466 

Clinch 3.063 

Cobb 14.241 

Cotfee 2.879 

Colowitt 1.316 

Ccdumbia 11.860 

Coweta 14.703 

CrsNN-ford 7.693 

Dade 3.069 

Dawson 3,857 

Decatur 11.923 

De Kalb 7.807 

Doolv 8.915 

Dougherty 8.295 

Earlv 6,158 

Echols ' 1.491 

Etlinsham 4 75€ 

Elbert 10.433 

Emanuel 5.081 

Fannin 5,140 

Favette 7.047 

Floyd 15.195 

Forsvth 7.749 

Franklin 7.393 

Fulton 14.427 

Gilmer 6.722 

Glascock 2.437 

Glvnn 3.889 

Gordon 10,146 

Greene 12,649 

Gwinnett 12.940 

Habersham 5.966 

Hall 9.866 

Hancock 12.044 

Haralson 3.039 

Harris 13.736 

Hart 6.133 



POPULATION OF THE UNITED 



STATES. 



861 



Heard 7,805 

Henry .....10,702 

Houston 15,613 

Irwin 1,699 

Jackson 10,605 

Jasper 10,743 

Jefferson 10.219 

Johnson 2.919 

Jones 9,107 

Laurena 6,998 

Lee 7.176 

Liberty 8,369 

Lincoln 5,466 

Lowndes 5,249 

Lumpkin 4,626 

Mcintosh 5,546 

Macon 8,499 

Madison 5.933 

Marion 7,390 

Meriwether 15.329 

Miller 1,791 

Milton 4,602 

Mitchell 4,308 

Monroe 15,953 

Montcromery 2,997 

Morfruu 9,998 

Murray 7,(iS3 

M u scoiree 1 6,584 

Newton 14,323 

Oglethorp 11,549 

Paulding 7,038 

Pickens 4,951 

Pierce 1,973 

Pike 10,086 

Polk 6,295 

Pulaski 8,744 

Putnam 10,130 

Quitman 3,499 

Eabun 3,271 

Randolph 9,571 

Richmond 21,284 

Schley 4,633 

Scriven 8,274 

Spalding 8,699 

Stewart 13,423 

Sumter 9.428 

Talbot 13,617 

Talliaferro 4.583 

Tatnall 4,352 

Taylor 6,000 

Telfair 2,713 

Terrell 6,237 

Thomas 10.767 

Towns 2,459 

Troup 16,259 

Twiorgs 8,320 

Union 4,413 

Upson 9,910 

Walker 10,082 

Walton 11.072 

War« 2,200 

Warren 9,820 

Wasliington 12,698 

Wayne 2,269 

Webscer 5,030 

While 3,314 

Whiciield 10,047 

Wilcox 2,115 

Wilkes... 11.420 

Wilkinson 9,376 

Worth 2,763 



Total Co. 132, In, .. .1,057,329 

Ploeida. 

Alachua 8,234 

Brevard (St. Lucie) .... 246 

Calhoun 1,446 



Clay 1,914 

Columbia 4,727 

Dade 83 

Duval 5,095 

Escambia 5,768 

Franklin 1,904 

Gadsden 9,396 

Hamilton 4,154 

Hernando (Benton).... 1,200 

Hillsboro'.. 2,981 

Holmes 1,386 

Jackson 10,199 

Jefferson 9,876 

Lafayette 2,068 

Leon 12,385 

Levy 1,782 

Liberty 1,457 

Madison 7,779 

Manatee 854 

Marion 8,610 

Monroe 2,912 

Nassau 3,654 

New River. 4,655 

Oransce 9S7 

Putnam 2,712 

St. John's 3.039 

Santa Rosa. 5.481 

Sumter 1,549 

Suwanee 1,338 

Taylor 1,384 

Volusia 1,158 

Wakulla 2,835 

Walton 3,037 

Washington 2,154 

Total Co. 37, In 140,439 

Alabama. 

Autauga 16,739 

Baldwin 7,533 

Barbour 30,815 

Benton (dropped.) 

Bibb 11,894 

Blount 10,865 

Butler 18,122 

Calhoun 21,539 

Chambers ...28.214 

Cherokee 18,360 

Choctaw 18,887 

Clarke 15 049 

Coffee 9,623 

Conecuh 11,311 

Coosa 19,272 

Covington 6.469 

Dale 12,227 

Dallas 38,625 

De Kalb 10,705 

Fayette 12.850 

Franklin 18,628 

Greene 80,859 

Hancock .(dropped.) 

Henry ......14,917 

Jackson 18,284 

Jefferson 11,744 

Lauderdale 17,420 

Lawrence 18.976 

Limestone 15,304 

Lowndes 27,718 

Macon 26,834 

Madison 26,450 

Marengo 81,194 

Marion 11,180 

Marshall 11,472 

Mobile 41,181 

Monroe 15,669 

Monttromery 35.905 

Morgan 11,331 



Perry 27.727 

Pickens 22,819 

Pike 24.436 

Randolph 20,059 

Russell 26.583 

St. Clair 11,012 

Shelby 12,618 

Sumter 24,035 

Talladega 28,520 

Tallapoosa. 23,827 

Tuscaloosa 23,202 

Walker... 7,980 

Washington 4,669 

Wilcox 24.618 

Winston 3,57fl 



Total Co. 54, In 964,296 

Mississippi, 

Adams 20,165 

Amite 12,336 

Attala 14,168 

Bolivar 10,471 

Calhoun 9,518 

Carroll 22,088 

Chickasaw ..16,426 

Choctaw 15,740 

Claiborne ....15,680 

Clarke 10,771 

Coahoma 6,606 

Copiah 15,399 

Covington... 4,408 

DeSoto 23,836 

Franklin 8,265 

Greene 2,232 

Hancock 3,189 

Harrison 4,819 

Hinds 31,342 

Holmes 17,794 

Tsaquena 7,831 

Itawamba 17,695 

Jackson 4,122 

Jasper 11,007 

Jefferson 15.349 

Jones 3,323 

Kemper 11,682 

La Fayette 16,135 

Lauderdale 13,818 

Lawrence 9,213 

Leake 9,324 

Lowndes 23.625 

Madison 23,882 

Marion 4,686 

Marshall 28,820 

Monroe 21,283 

Neshoba 8,343 

Newton 9,661 

Noxubee 20,666 

Oktibbeha.... 12,982 

Panola 13,794 

Perry.... 2,606 

Pike 11,135 

Pontotoc 22,114 

Rankin 13,637 

Scott 8.140 

Simpson 6,080 

Smith , 7,fi38 

Sunflower 5,019 

Tallahatchie 7.892 

Tippah 22,559 

Tishemingo ...24.149 

Tunica 4.367 

Warren 20,710 

Washington 15,079 

Wavne 8,691 

Wilkinson 15,935 

Winston 9,SU 



862 



POPULATION OF TOE UNITED STATES. 



Yallabusha 16,980 

Yazoo 22,373 

Total Co. 60, In 791,396 

LOCJISIANA. 

{Parishes.) 

Ascension 11,485 

Assumption. 15,379 

Avoyelles 13,166 

Baton Rouge, East.... 16,040 
Baton Rouge, West. . . 7,312 

Bienville 11,000 

Bossier 12,628 

Caddo 12,140 

Calcasieu 5,928 

Caldwell 4,833 

Carroll 18,053 

Catahoula 11.652 

Claiborne 16,846 

Concordia. 13.S05 

De Soto 13,299 

Feliciana, East 14.696 

Feliciana, West 11.671 

Franklin 6,162 

Iberville 14.661 

Jackson 9,812 

Jefferson 15,372 

La Fayette 9.003 

La Fourche 14.044 

Livinirston 4.431 

Madison 14.133 

Morehouse 10.357 

Natchitoches 16,697 

Orleans 174.258 

Opelousas 23.104 

Plaqueniine 8,493 

Point Coupee 17,720 

Rapides 25.360 

Sabine 5,S2S 

St. Bernard 4.076 

St. Charles 5.297 

St. Helena 7,130 

St. James 11,504 

St. John Baptist 7,932 

St. Landrv 23.100 

St. Martins 12,677 

St. Mary^s 16.812 

St. Tammany 5,406 

Tensas 16,080 

Terre Bonne 12,090 

Union 10.390 

Vermillion 4,324 

Washita 4,727 

Washington 4,708 

Winn 6,S76 

Total Parishes 49. [a...r09,290 

Texas. 

Anderson 10,397 

Angelica 4,271 

Archer (not organized.) 

Attacosta 1.5S0 

Austin 10,139 

Bandera 399 

Bastrop 5.726 

Baylor (not organized.) 

Bee 910 

Bell 4,800 

Bexar 14.454 

Blanco.. 1,281 

ARKiNSAS. 

Arkansas 8,844 

Aabley 8,590 



Bosque 2.005 

Bowie 5.052 

Brazoria 7.14^3 

Brazos 2,776 

Brown 244 

Buchanan 280 

liui'cson 5.i:i>3 

Burnett 2.4^^ 

Calahan (not organizi-d.) 

Caldwell 4.4^1 

Calhoun 2.642 

Cameron.. 6.030 

Cass 8,411 

Chambers 1,5(18 

Cherokee 12,U98 

Clay 109 

Coleman (not organized.) 

Collin 9.260 

Colorado 7,8S5 

Comal 4,030 

Comanche 709 

Conchos (not organized.) 

Cook 3.760 

Coryell 2.66ii 

Culloch (not organized.) 

Dallas S>,66n 

Dawson 251 

Denton 5,030 

De Witt 5.107 

I Dimmitt (not organized.) 

I Duval (not oricauized.) 

Eastland . . 99 

1 Edwards (not organized.) 

: Ellis 5.246 

: £1 Paso 4,051 

I Encinal 43 

I Erath 2.425 

' Falls 3,614 

Fannin 9.217 

Favette 11.604 

Fort Bend 6,143 

j Freestone 6.SS1 

Frio 40 

■ Galvestcm 8.177 

i Guadalupe 5.444 

i Gillespie 2.736 

I Goliad 3,3s3 

Gonzales 8,050 

Gravson 8. 187 

I Grimes 10,307 

i Hamilton 489 

I Hardeman ., (not organized.) 

Hardin 1.353 

Harris 7,710 

Harrison 15,001 

Haskell (not organized.) 

Hays., 2.058 

Henderson . 4,595 

Hidalgo 1.193 

Hill 3,653 

Hopkins 7.745 

Houston 8.05s 

Hunt 6.654 

Jack l.OUO 

Jackson 2,612 

Jasper 4,041 

Jetferson 1.994 

Johnson 4,305 

Jones (not organized.) 

Karnes 2.171 

Kaufman 3,936 

Kemble (not organized.) 

WESTERN" STATES. 

Benton 9,305 I Carroll 9,8SS 

Bradley S..3SS Chicot... 9,231 

Calhoun 4,103 | Clark 9,T38 



I KeiT. 634 

I Kinney 61 

I Knox (not organized.) 

I Lamar 10.136 

1 Lampasas 1.028 

La Salle (not organized.) 

Lavacca 5.94S 

Leon 6,781 

1 Liberty 8,l!59 

1 Limestone 4,53T 

! Lavacca 593 

Llano 1,101 

McLennan 6.206 

i McMullen. . .(not organiz(Hl.) 

Madison 2.238 

I Marion 8,979 

Mason 630 

I Matagi.rda. 2.910 

! Mavurick 728 

; Medina 1,S;38 

' Menard (not organizt d.) 

Milam 5.175 

Montague 849 

Montgomery 5.479 

I Nacogdoches 8,293 

I Navarro 5.997 

! Newton 3.123 

I Nueces 2,907 

Orange 1.916 

1 Palo Pinto 1.524 

1 Panola 8.475 

Parker 4.214 

! Polk 8,298 

Presidio 580 

Red River 8,584 

1 Refugio 1.594 

j Robertson 4,997 

! Runnells (not organized.) 

i Rusk 15,808 

Sabine 2.750 

San Augustine 4.094 

San Patricio 620 

San Saba.... 913 

Shackelford 44 

Shelby 5,362 

! Smith 13.395 

Starr 2.406 

j Tarrant 6,020 

Taylor (not organized.) 

' Throckmorton 124 

Titus 9.648 

I'Tiravis 8.0.S0 

Trinity 4.392 

! Tvler 4.525 

Upshur 10.645 

! Uvalde 506 

; Van Zandt 8.778 

Victoria 5.675 

Walker 8,191 

Washington 15,215 

Webb..^. 1,446 

\ Wharton 8,380 

Wichita (not organized.) 

Wilbranger. .(not organized.) 

Williamson 4,529 

Wise 3.160 

Wood 4.96s 

Young 59-2 

ZaPatta 1,24.«^ 

Zavalla 2e 

Total Oo. 154, In 602,4311 



POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



£68 



Columbia 2,451 

Ck)Dway 6,698 

Craighead 3.066 

Crawford 7,860 

Crittenden 4,919 

Dallas 8,287 

Desha 6,458 

Drew 9,079 

Franklin 7,299 

Fulton 4,024 

Greene 5,844 

Hempstead 18,991 

Hot Spring 5,635 

Independence 14,308 

Izard 7,215 

Jackson 10.493 

Jeflferson 16,977 

Johnson 7,612 

La Fayette 8,466 

Lawence 9,349 

Madison 7,740 

Marion 6,192 

Mississippi 8,895 

Monroe 5,657 

Montgomery 3,6o3 

Newton 3,393 

Perry 2,465 

Phillips 14,878 

Pike 4,025 

Poinsett 3,621 

Polk 4,262 

Pope 7,867 

Prairie 8,854 

Pulaski 11,700 

Randolph 6,261 

St. Francis 8,673 

Saline 6,640 

Scott 5,145 

Searcy 5.271 

Sebastian 9,238 

Sevier 10,516 

Union 12,288 

Van Buren 5,857 

Washington 14,673 

Washita 12,936 

White 8,316 

Yell 6,;333 

Total Co. 55, In 435.427 

Tennessee. 

Anderson 7,068 

Bedford 21.5S4 

Benton 8.463 

Bledsoe 4.459 

Blount 13,272 

Bradley 11.701 

Campbell 6,712 

Cannon 9.509 

Carroll 17,518 

Carter 7.124 

Chatham 7,258 

Claiborne 9,644 

Cocke 10,408 

CofiFee 9.689 

Cumberland 3,460 

Davidson 47,054 

Decatur 6.277 

De Kalb 10,573 

Dickson 9,982 

Dyer 1(1,536 

Fayette 24.329 

Fentress 5,054 

Franklin 13.848 

Gibson 21.783 

Giles 26,166 

Granger 10,962 



Greene 18,964 

Grundy 3,094 

Hamilton 13,259 

Hancock 7,021 

Hardeman 17,769 

Hardin 11.214 

Hawkins 16,141 

Haywood 19,232 

Henderson 14,491 

Henry 19.183 

Hickman 9,312 

Humphreys 9,100 

Jackson 11,726 

Jefferson 16,042 

Johnson 5,018 

Knox 22,812 

Lauderdale 7,562 

Lawrence 9.319 

Lewis 2.241 

Lincoln 22,828 

McMinn 13,553 

McNairy 14,732 

Macon 7,290 

Madison 21,535 

Marion 6,190 

Marshall 14,592 

Maury 32,498 

Meigs 4,667 

Monroe 12.607 

Montgomery .20,895 

Morgan 3,353 

Obion 12;817 

Overton 12,637 

Perry 6,042 

Polk 8,726 I 

Putnam 8,558 

Ehea 4,991 

Roane 13,585 

Robertson 15,265 

Rutherford 27,918 

Scott 3,519 

Sequatchie 2,120 

Sevier 9,122 

Shelby 48,091 

Smith 16.357 

Stewart 9,888 

Sullivan 13,553 

Sumner 22,030 

Tioton 10.704 

Union 6,117 

Van Buren 2,581 

Warren 11,147 

Washington 14.846 

Wayne 9,115 

Weakley 18,216 

White 9,381 

Williamson 23,827 

Wilson 26,072 

Total Co. 84, In 1,109,847 

Kentucky. 

Adair 9,509 

Allen 9,187 

Anderson 7,404 

Ballard 8,693 

Barren 16,665 

Bath 12,113 

Boone 11.197 

Bourbon 14.859 

Bovd 6.044 

Boyle.. 9.306 

Bracken 11,021 

Breathitt 4,9S0 

Breckenridge 13,237 

Bullitt 7.289 

Butler 7,927 



Caldwell 9,318 

Callaway 9.915 

Campbell 20,9u9 

Carroll 6,678 

Carter 8,516 

Casey 6,465 

Christian 21,628 

Clark 11,484 

Clay 6,652 

Clinton 5.781 

Crittenden 8.790 

Cumberland 7,34(> 

Daviess 15,549 

Edmondson 4,647 

Estill 6,886 

Fayette 22,599 

Fleming 12,488 

Floyd 6,388 

Franklin 12,693 

Fulton 5,317 

Gallatin 5,056 

Garrard 10,530 

Grant 8,356 

Graves 16,234 

Grayson 7,982 

Green 8,805 

Greenup 8,759 

Hancock 6,213 

Hardin 15.190 

Harlan 5,494 

Harrison 13,779 

Hart 10,348 

Henderson 14,262 

Henry 11,950 

Hickman 7,011 

Hopkins 11,876 

Jackson 3,087 

Jefferson 89,406 

Jessamine 9,466 

Johnson 5,306 

Kenton 25,467 

Knox 7,707 

La Rue 6,891 

Laurel 5,488 

Lawrence 7,601 

Letcher 3,904 

Lewis 8,361 

Lincoln 10,646 

Livingston 7,202 

Logan 19,021 

Lyon 5,309 

McCracken 10,360 

McLean 6,146 

Madison 17,207 

Magoffin 3.4S4 

Marion 12,605 

Marshall 6.984 

Mason 18.223 

Mead 8.898 

Mercer 13,701 

Metcalfe 6,745 

Monroe 8,661 

Montgomery 7,869 

Morgan 9,238 

Muhlenburg 10,725 

Nelson 15,801 

Nicholas 11,030 

Ohio 12,208 

Oldham 7.283 

Owen 12,721 

Owsley 5,335 

Pendleton 10.443 

Perry 3,950 

Pike 7,384 

Powell 2.257 

Pulaski 17.203 

Rock Castle 5,348 

Rowan..: 2,282 



864 



POPULATION OF THE LNITED STA'JES. 



fIus:<oll 6.024 

Scott 14.417 

Shflliy 10.4^-5(5 

Simjisun b.l46 

HofiicLT 6.153 

Taylor T.4>1 

Tod 1 11.575 

Tris-2 11.052 

Trimble o.SSU 

L)u 12.7'Jl 

Waiivn 17..VJ5 

AVa.^' i i-tim 11.575 

Wayne 10,258 

\Ve.,.-u-r 7..5;« 

AVhiti. v 7.762 

Woodtoid 11.220 



Total Co. 109, In . . ..1,155,71^ 
Ohio. 

Adams 20,809 

Allen 19.1S5 

Ashland 2.i.951 

Asiatabula 31.^14 

Athens 21.;3W 

Auglaize 17. iS'i 

Beiuiont 36.4;:!s 

Brown 29.956 

Butler 35.!v40 

Carroll 15,738 

Champaign 22.698 

Glark 25,3nl 

CleruKjnt 33,037 

Clinton 21.462 

Columbiana 32.^)36 | 

(Joshocton 25.082 1 

Crawford 23.")50 j 

Cuvahoga 78.035 

Darke 26,2^9 

Defiance ll,Sb6 

Delaxvare 23.9 1'i 

Erie 24.473 

Fairfield. 30,5:38 

Fayette 15.936 

Franklin 50,373 

Fulton 14,044 

Gallia 22.0 io 

Geauga, 15.817 

Greene 26.197 

Guernsey 24.471 

Hamilton 216.41 1 

Hancock 22.886 

Hardin 13,569 

Harrison 19.109 

Henrv- 8.901 

Hiahiand 27.774 

Hockins 17.059 

Holmes^. 20.5^9 

Huron 29.899 

Jackson 17.941 

Jefferson 26,117 

Knox 27.735 

Lake 15.576 

Lawrence 23.254 

Licking 37.011 

Logan 20.997 

lA)rain 29.745 

Lucas 25,831 

Madison 13.015 

Mahoning 25,895 

Marion..' 15.490 

Medina 22.517 

Meiss 26.534 

Mercer 14.105 

Miami 29.959 

Monroe ,, 25.74^3 

Montgomery 52,233 



Morgan 22.117 

Morrow 20,445 

Muskingum 44.417 

Xoble 20.751 

Ottawa 7.017 

Paulding 4.945 

Perry 19.679 

Pickaway 23.469 

Pike 13.64;3 

Portage 24.206 

PreblJ 21.S20 

Putnam 12.808 

Kichland 31,156 

Ptoss 35.071 

Sandusky 21.147 

Scioto 24.297 

Seneca 30.s69 

Shelby 17.493 

Stark' 4-.'.976 

Summit 27.340 

Trumbull 30.656 

Tuscara\\as 32.463 

Union 16.5o7 

Van "Wert 10.2oS 

\'intou IS.tWl 

Warren 26.908 

Washington 36.271 

Wavne 32.4S3 

Wifliams 16.6:32 

Wood..! 17.886 

Wyandotte 15.596 

Total Co. 88, In 2,339,599 

Michigan. 

.V Icon a 185 

Allegan 16.0-^7 

Alpena 200 

Antrim 179 

Barry 13.^5^ 

Bay a.m 

Berrien 22.376 

Branch 2i>.95l 

Calhoun 29. 5(^3 

Cass .17.721 

Cheboygan 517 

Chippewa... 1.6o3 

Clare (not organized.) 

Clinton 7. 13.9 i 6 

Crawford (not organized.) 

Delta 1.172 

Eaton 16.476 

Emmett 1.149 

Genesee 22,498 

Glad\vin 14 

Grand Traverse 1.286 

Gratiot 4,042 

Hillsdale 25,675 

Houshton 9.235 

Huron 3,165 

Ingram 17.435 

Ionia 16,682 

Iosco 175 

Isabella 1.443 

Jackson 26,671 

Kalamazoo. 24645 

Kalcaca (not organized.) 

Kent 30,715 

Lake (not organized.) 

Lelenaw 2,158 

La Peer 14,754 

Lenawee 38. 1 1 2 

Livingston 16.852 

Macomb 22.843 

Manistee 975 

Manitou 1.042 

ilarquette 2,821 



Mason , 831 

Michilimackinac 1.9:38 

Mi.ilan.l 787 

Misbiiukee. . .(not orgai/ized.) 

Monroe 21.593 

Moncalm :3.96S 

Montmorency (not organized,) 

Muskee-on 3.947 

Necosta'. 970 

Newa\ iro 2.761 

Oakland 3s.261 

Oceana 1.816 

Ogemaw (not organized.) 

OntoiuiLTon 4.568 

Osceola 27 

Oscoda (not organized.) 

Otsego (not organized.) 

Ottawa 13.215 

Presipie Isle 26 

Ptoscommon .(not organized.) 

Saginaw 7.. 12.693 

St. Clair 26.602 

St. Josejdi 21.262 

Sanilac 7.601 

Schiawassee 12.349 

Schoolcraft 78 

Tuscola 4.S86 

Van Buren 15.224 

Washtenaw 35.688 

Wayne 75,M3 

Wexford. (not organized.) 

Total Co. 73, In 749,112 

Indiana. 

Ad.ims 9.574 

.\r.en 29.:327 

Bartholomew 17.945 

Benton 2.810 

Blackford 4,122 

Boone 16.754 

Brown 6.507 

CaiToli 13.4S9 

Cass 16.843 

Clarke 20.506 

Clav 12.160 

Clinton 14.505 

CraM-ford 8.205 

Daviess 13.361 

Dearborn 24,406 

Decatur 17.294 

De Kalb 13.880 

Delaware 15.758 

Dubois 10.394 

Elkhart 20.991 

Favette 10.186 

Fl6vd 20.182 

Fountain 15.567 

Franklin 19.550 

Fulton 9.421 

Gibson 14.532 

Grant 15.779 

Greene 16.043 

Hamilton 17.310 

Hancock 12,801 

Harrison 18.421 

Hendricks 16.953 

Henrv 20.118 

Howard 12.524 

Huntington 14.868 

Jackson 16.288 

Jasper 4.292 

Jav 11.399 

Jefferson 2.5.0:39 

Jennings 14.754 

Johnson 14^^55 

Knox 1G,05« 



POPULATION OF THE rNTTEB STATES. 



805 



KOTcinsko 1L424 

La Grange 11.865 

Lake 9.143 

Lh Porte... 22.921 

Liiwrenctt 13,693 

Madison 16,514 

Marion 89.S58 

Mar.-hull 12,722 

Martin 8,975 

Miaui 16.851 

Monroe V2MS 

Montsonierv 20,S89 

Moriran....". 16,110 

Newton 2.360 

Noble 14.915 

Ohio 5.4i52 

Orange 12.076 

Owen 14 376 

Parke 15.538 

Perry 11,840 

Pike 10,079 

Por:er 10,314 

Posev 16.166 

Pulaski 5,711 

Putnam 20 6S1 1 

Randolph 18.997 I 

Ripley 1 9.058 

Rush 16.192 

St. Joseph 18.456 

Scott 7.304 

Shelby 19.511 

Spencer 14,556 

Stark 2.195 

Steuben... 1('.^!74 

Sullivan 15.063 

Switzerland 12.69S 

Tippecanoe 25.765 

Tipton S.i71 I 

Union 7,1 10 

Vanderburg 20.554 

VermilUoir. 9.4-;;3 

Vigo 22.519 

Waba.«<h 17.547 I 

Warren 10.057 

Warwick 18.263 ' 

Washington 17.929 j 

Wayne 29.558 ! 

Wells 10.?8-i. ! 

White 8. -J 6.', ; 

Whitley lo.7;-ii ' 



Total Co. 92, In I,35.i,y41 



Illinois. 

Adams, 41.823 

Alexander 4,706 

Bond 9,813 

Boone 11.678 

Brown 9.93S 

Bureau 26,429 

Calhoun 5.145 

Carroll 11,733 

Cass 11.825 

Champaisn 14.62S 

."•hristianX 10.493 

C.-irke 14,987 

Clay 9,386 

Clinton 10,941 

Coles 14.200 

Cook 144.957 

Crawford 11.551 

Cumberland 8.311 

De Ka!b 19,086 

De AVirt . 10.819 

Donsh's 7.140 

l)u Pa^e 14,711 



Edgar 16.925 

Edwards 5.454 

Ettingham 7.sl6 

Fayette ll.iys 

Ford 1.979 

Franklin 9,393 

Fulton 38.299 

Gallatin 8.054 

Greene 16.i'93 

Grundv 10.379 

Hamilton 9.915 

Hancock 29.061 

Hardin 3,748 

Henderson 9.501 

Henrv 20 658 I 

Iroquois 12.3 4 | 

Jackson . 9,589 | 

Jasper 8,372 ■: 

Jettersou 12.965 

Jersey 12.058 ! 

Jo Daviess 27.277 | 

Johnson 9.342 I 

Kaue 80.(>5s 

Kankakee 15.416 ! 

Kendall 13.o74 i 

Knox 28. 66;3 I 

Lake IS. 256 

La Salle 48,332 

La'R-ren(^ 9.214 

Lee 17,651 

Li\ingston 11,638 

Lotran 14.276 

McD<'noui:h 20.069 

M.'Uenrv". 22.0.88 

McLtau' 28. 74- » 

Macon 13.735 

Macon |. in 24,602 

Madison 81.215 

Marion 12,733 

Marshall 18.487 

Mason .. 10,933 

Massac 6,214 

Menard 9,596 

Mercer 15,042 

Monroe 12.832 

Montsomery 13,892 

Morsan . . . ." 22.113 

Moultrie 6.3S5 

o<rle 22.8^7 

P-Tiu 86.600 

Perir 9,552 

I'ihU 6.127 

Pike 27.249 

Pope 6.742 

Pulaski 8,950 

Putnam 5.587 

Kando;ph 17.205 

Eichland 9.7 il | 

Eock Island 2I,2(-5 | 

St. Clair 37.694 : 

Saline 9.331 { 

Sansjainon o2.2=>5 

Schfivler 14.6S5 

Scntt 9.070 

Shelby 14,635 

Stark 9,00 1 

Stephenson 25.113 

Tazewell 21.471 

Union 11.182 

Vermillion. 19.801 

Wabash .. 7.312 

Warren 18.336 

Washington 13.731 

Wavne 12,238 

White 12.403 

Whitesides 18.740 

Will 29,321 

Williamson 12,205 



Winnebairo 24,492 

Woodlord 13.282 



Total Co. 102, In . . . .1,711,758 

Wisconsin. 

Adams 6,497 

Ashland 518 

Bad Ax 11.012 

Brown 11,797 

Biitfalo 8,865 

Burnet 12 

Calumet 7,S96 

Cliii)i)ewa 1.895 

Clark 7?& 

t.'olumbia 24.445 

Crawtord 8,071 

Dallas 13 

Dane 43,992 

Dodge 42.819 

Door 2,948 

Doufflas 828 

Dunn 2,728 

Eau Claire 8.164 

Fond du Lac 3-1.165 

Grant 8^207 

Green 19,881 

Green Lake 12,681 

Iowa 18,998 

Jackson 4,171 

Jetterson 28,771 

Juneau 8,704 

Kenosha 13,516 

Kewaunee 5,530 

La Cio^se 12,194 

La Favette 18,141 

La Pointe 6T2 

Manitoowoc 22,386 

Marathon 2,984 

Marquette 8,286 

Milwaukee 02,664 

Monroe 8,398 

Oconto 3,600 

Outagamie 9,588 

Ozaukee 15,674 

Pepin 2.397 

Pierce 4,672 

Polk 1,412 

Portase 7,504 

Eacine 21.840 

Eichland 9,737 

Eock 36.692 

Sauk 18.894 

Shawanan 8,829 

Shebovaan 26,848 

St. Croix 5.893 

Trempleau 2.550 

Walworth 26.506 

Wa.shinjrton 23,685 

Waukesha 26,849 ^ 

Waubacca 8.866 

Waushara 8.772 

Winnebago 23,769 

Wood . • 2.429 



Total Co. 58, In 776,878 

Iowa. 

Adair 984 

Adams 158;^ 

Alamakee 12,286 

.\ppanoose 11,983 

Audubon 464 

Benton 8,B(K. 

Black K.iwk 8,244 

Boone 4.281 



866 



POPULATION OF THE rNITED STATES. 



Bremer 4,915 

liuclianan 7,9i)6 

Bueiia Vista 57 

)j irifombe. . .(not organized.) 

JJutler ; . 3,724 

Calhoun 147 

Carroll 281 

Cuss 1,612 

Cedar 12,949 

Cerro Gordo 940 

Clierokee 57 

Chickasaw 4.3:3S 

Clarke 5,427 

Clay 52 

Clayton 20.72s 

Clinton 1S.93S 

Crawford 3S3. 

Dallas 5.244 

Davis l:J.Tf>4 

Decatur 8 BIT 

Delawai'e 11. nj-^ 

Des Moines ly.til -' 

Dickinson 

Dubuque 31.1 1.:. 

Emmett 1 ' ^ 

Fayette 12.0,4 

Floyd 3.74.; 

Franklin l.^mi 

Fremont 5."T1 

Green 1.H74 

Grundy 793 

Guthrie 3.058 

Hamilton 1.G99 

Hancock 179 

Hardin 5.440 

Harrison 3.(rJ3 

Henrv 18,7(10 

H )ward 3,163 

Humboldt 332 

Ida 4-3 

Iowa 8.0J9 

Jackson 18.404 

Jasper 9.-^>>7 

Jetferson l."'.(i;T 

Johnson 17,">72 

Jones l-5.3it5 

Keokuk 13.-'- 4 

Kossuth 41 'i 

Lee 29. -232 

Linn l>r.) 

Louisa li'.-".7i) 

Lucas 5.7'"") 

Madison 7.;'>->S 

Mahaska 14,81 'i 

Marion 10..- 15 

Marshall O.iUS 

Mills 4.4>0 

Mitchell.... 3.400 

Monona 832 

Monroe S.611 

Mi>flt2;omery 1,256 

Muscatine .. 16.44-4 

Osceola (not organized.) 

O'Brien fe 

Paee 4,419 

Palo Alto 133 

Plymouth 148 

Pjcahoatas 103 

FoVi 11.625 

PottawatJUiiiL' 4,962 

Poweshi'.^k 5.670 

Kin--old .. . . 2,923 

Sac':. 246 

8:-ott 25,960 

Sh.-lbv...'. 818 

tsiou.x 10 

Story 4,052 

T-inia 5,285 



Taylor 3.589 

Union 2,012 

Van Buren 17,083 

Wapell 14.518 

AVan-en 10.282 

Washington 14.233 

Wayne. 6,411 

Webster 2,504 

Winniibicro 168 

Winncsliick 13,942 

Woodbury .. 1.119 

Worth..." 756 

Wright 653 

Total Co. 99. In 674.948 

Minnesota. 

Aikm 2 

^11 oka 2.100 

Brrk-r 

IV lit. HI 627 

i:; I ::::rii> 4,802 

n. .■Lr.iiidre 79 

, 2.339 i 

-iiinr'a 26 I 

' irl.'K.ii 51 I 

- 'arver 5,lo6 ' 

C.ss 150 

Chisago 91 

Cotton WMod 12 

Crow V/ing 269 

Dakotuh...^ 9,093 1 

D<;d.:e 3,797 

Do'i-1 .s 195 

Faribault 1.335 

Fillmore 13,543 

Freeborn 3.367 I 

Goodhue 8.997 

Hennepin 12,849 I 

Houston 6,(>45 

Isanti 284 

Iiisra 51 

JackMui 181 

Kaiiabac 30 

Kandiyoht 76 

Lake " 248 

Le Sueur 5,318 

Maakaliti\ (dropped.) 



.Mannnin . 

.^^u•fin 

y.lvU'o.l.... 
Mc'cker .... 
>Iiik' Lac... 
-MoiioU'ialia 
Morrison 

M )Vver 

^Lu'ray . . . . 
Nicollet. . . . 
>Toble 



136 
151 
1,286 
928 
73 
359 
618 
3,217 
29 
3,773 
35 

01 ui stead 9.527 



Otter Tail.. 
Pembina. . . 

Pierce 

Pine 

Pipestone. . 

Polk 

Eamsay 

Ecnvilie . . 
Rice 

Scot! 

Sherburne. 

Sibley 

Stearns . . . , 

Steele 

St. Louis. . 

Todd 

Toomb*.. . 



240 
1,612 
10 
1.741 
23 
240 
12.150 
245 
7,543 



724 j 
3,609 
4 5f^5 
2.863 
406 
431 
40 



Wabashaw 7,228 

Wahnata (dropped.) 

Waseca 2.601 

Washington 6,123 

Winona 9.203 

Wright 8,729 

Total Co. 66, In 172,022 

MlSSOUEL 

Adair 8.531 

Andrew 11,850 

Atchison 4.649 

Audrain 8.074 

Ban-y 7,794 

Barton I.SIT 

Bates 7,216 

Benton 9.072 

BoUin^'er 7.3S8 

Boone 19.48T 

Buchanan 23,861 

Butler 2,891 

Caldwell 5.084 

Callaway 17.445 

Camden 4.975 

Cape Girardeau. 15.547 

Carroll 9,775 

Carter 1,234 

Cass 9.793 

Cedar 6,639 

Chariton 12.5G9 

Christian 5,491 

Clark 11,654 

Clay 13,025 

Clinton 7,848 

Cole 9,696 

Cooper 17,358 

Crawford 5,82T 

Dade 7,078 

Dallas 5,892 

Daviess 9,605 

De Kalb 5,224 

Dent 5,654 

Dodge . (dropped \ 

Douglas 2,415 

Dunklin 5,026 

Franklin 18.083 

Gasconade 8.727 

Gentry 11.980 

Greene 13.186 

Grundy 7.895 

Harrison 10,627 

Henry 9.864 

Hickory 4,705 

Holt 6,550 

Howiird 15.949 

Howell 3,169 

Iron 5.842 

Jackson 22,914 

Jasper 6,883 

Jcfierson 10,344 

Johnsf)n 14,644 

Knox 8.726 

La Clede 5,180 

La Fayette 2ii.091 

L:n\Tence 8.847 

Lywis 12.286 

lA^o«\n 14,214 

Linn 9.112 

L^i viiisfston 7.417 

^[c Donald 4.049 

>:bicon 14,4i.;7 

Miviison 5,664 

Munes 4.901 

Marion 18,828 

Mercer 9.:il>0 

Miller 6,812 



POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



867 



NTissi?sippi 4,859 | 

>J()iiiteau 10.064 

Monroe 14,785 I 

Monteomery 9,719 [ 

Morgan 8,202 

New Madrid 5.653 

Newton 9,325 

Nodoway 5,253 

Oregon 3.00& 

Osasre T,8T9 

Ozark 2,447 

Pemiscot 2,961 

Perry 9,128 

Pettis 9,492 

Phelps 5,914 

Pike 18,420 

Platte 18.341 

Polk 9.9!'5 

Pnlaski 3.848 

Putnam 9,208 

Rails 8..92 

Rp.Tidolph 11,406 

Kay 14,091 

Keynolds S.1T8 

liiplev 8.747 

8t. Charles 16.525 

St. Olair 6,809 

St. Fran ci- 7.248 

St. Genevieve; 8.029 

St. Louis 190,535 

Saline I -i 700 

SchuyliT ()r97 

:^cotland 8.873 

Scott .-,247 

Shannon 2.284 

ShelbN T.801 

Stoddard... 7,877 

S''^ne 2,401 

^^ullivan 9.198 

fa.ney 3,576 

Texas 6,069 

Vernon 4,779 

Warren 8,833 

Washington 9,725 

Wavne 5.628 

Webster 7,099 

■ Wri-ht 4,508 



Total Co. 114, In. . . .1,182,317 

California. 

Alameda 8,927 

Am (lor 10,933 

Butte 12.107 

Calaveras 16,302 



Nebraska. 

Buifalo 114 

Burt 388 

Butler 27 

Calhoun 41 

Cass 3.369 

Cedar 246 

Clay 165 

Ciiming 67 

Dakotah 819 

Dawson., 16 

Dixon 247 

Dodge 809 

Douglas 4,82^ 

aX Kaudall Mil. Sta . . . 353 

Gage 421 

Greene 16 

Hcia 116 



Col u si 


2 274 


Contra Costa 


5 328 


Di.'l \orte 


1 99'^ 


El Dorado . 


20 562 




4.605 


Humboldt 


2 694 


V 1.. . , , .,1 


1.8o3 




11,386 


^iarin 


3 834 




6 '^43 


Mcndoeiiio 


3 907 


Mei-fC'd 


1 141 


Monterey 


4 789 


Napa 


5 51 5 


Nevada 


16 447 


Placer 


13 270 


Pltiii.as 


4 o6o 


Sacramento . . , . . . 


24 145 




8,548 






S.mta Ci uz 


. 4.945 


San Bernardino 


5,554 


San 1 lego 


4 826 


San Francisco 


. 56,^05 






San Luis C'lispo 


1.T&2 


S.m Mateo 


. 8.214 




4 860 


Sierra 


11 389 




i (.29 




7.170 




11.867 




2.245 


Sutter 


3890 


Teh::ma 


4,0-14 


Trinity 


5.125 




4.(338 


Tuolumne 


16 '''^^ 


Yolo 


4 716 


Xuba 


13 671 


Total Co. 44, In 


380 016 


Oregon. 






, 8,074 
. 3,466 




Clatsop 


498 




532 


C(,os 








. 3,264 




3.786 


J(.sephine 


1,622 




4,780 


I.inn 


fi 77 


TERRITORIES. 




528 




122 




474 




153 




152 




44 




. 3,149 
22 




Otoe 


4,211 


Pawnee Eeservatiou . 


36 


Pawnee 


882 


Platte and Madison . . 


. 782 


Polk 


19 




2,885 
29 




Sarp V- 


1,201 


Shorter 


114 


Wa.-iliingU.n 


. 1,249 



Marion 7,038 

Multnomah 4.150 

Polk 3,625 

Tilamook 95 

Umpqua 1,250 

Wasco 1.689 

Washington 2,801 

Yam Hill 3,245 

Total Co. 19, In .52,464 



Kansas. 

Allen 3.082 

Anderson ?.4Q0 

Atchison 7,729 

Bourbon 6,102 

Breckenridge 3.832 

Brown 2.609 

Butler 437 

Chase 808 

Clay 163 

Coffey.. 2,842 

Davis 1,163 

Dickinson 378 

Doniphan 8,084 

Doru 88 

Douglas 8,637 

Franklin 3,031 

Godfrey 19 

Greenwood 759 

Hunter 158 

Jackson 1,936 

Jefferson 4,458 

Johnson 4,363 

Leavenworth 12,606 

Linn o.336 

Lykens 4,980 

McGee 1.501 

Marion 74 

Marshall 2.280 

Morris 770 

Nemaha 2,437 

Osage 1.113 

Otoe 238 

Pottawatomie 588 

Eiley 1.225 

Shawnee 3,513 

Wabaunsee 1,964 

Washington 3S3 

Wilson 27 

Woodson 1.488 

W.vandot 2,609 

Total Co. 40, In 107,110 



Marshall's Limits 1,792 

Total Co. 86, In 28,836 

New Mexico. 

Arizona 6,488 

Bernalillo 8,769 

Dona Anna 6,289 

Mora 5,666 

Eio Ariba 9.849 

Santa Anna 3,572 

SnntaFe 8,114 

San Miguel 13.714 

Socorro 6,787 

lu.v^ 14,103 

\ aiencia li,o21 

TouU u. In. . ..98,541 



868 



populItion of the united states. 



Utah. 

Carpon . . 1 ,608 

Davis 2,904 

Degeret 2,605 

Green River 141 

Iron 

Juab 

Millard . 

Salt Lake 11,296 

San Pete 

Summit 198 

Tooele 1,008 

Utah 

Washington 

"Weber 8.675 

Total Co. 14. In 40,295 

WABinNGTON. 

2S5 



Clallam 149 

Clarke 2,276 

Cowlitz 445 

Island 294 

Jefferson 530 

King 802 

Kitsbp 545 

Kllckitar 221 

Lewis 884 

Pacific 421 

Pierce 1,115 

bkamania 225 

Spokane 996 

Suqiiamish 162 

Thurston 1,507 

Wahkiacum 42 

Walla- Walia 1,327 

Whatcom ;352 



Total Co. 19, In... 



Nbtada. 

Carson (5,CJW 

Humholdt 4C 

St. Mary's 108 

Total Co. 8, la 6,b08 



Colorado. 

Not yet divided into 
conn ties. 



Dakotah. 



Not yet divided into 
.11,548 I counties 



RECOMMENDATIONS 

FOR 

ICITTO'S 

IllOSTRlUD HISTORY OF W BIBIE. 



More than (100,000) one hundred thousand orders have been received for this work during 
the few months it has been offered to the public, besides hundreds of commen- 
dations from the clergymen of all denominations of Christians. 



From Kev. IL,eoiiard Sacon, !>.]). 

Any book in explanation of the Bible frnm the learned Dr. Kitto must be valuable. The Rev. Dr. Bond.t 
cannot doubt, will add to the value of Kitto's " History of the Bible," in the proposed American edition. 

New Haven, Aug. 6, 18(56. LEONARD BACO 

From Kev. Theo. T,. Cuyler, ]>.!>. 

1 so much approve of this "Illustrated History of the Holy Bible " that I wish it might be laid beside the 
Blessed Book of which it treats, in thousands of dwehinss. THEO. L. CUYLER, 

Brooklyn, N.Y.,Nov. 16, J 866. Pastor Lafayette Avenue Church. 

From Kev. Senjamin Adams. 

I have examined the " Illustrated History of the Bible " with great pleasure. In my opinion it is a book well 
qualified to do good, especially among the young, and those who have not time for more careful and lengthy study 
of the great wor^s (HI the Bible. Yours, BENJAMIN ADAMS, 

Brooklyn, N.Y., Nov. 12, 1866. Pastor of Fleet Street M. E. Church. 

From Kev. Joel Hawes, I>.I>. 

An admirable Family and Sabbath-school book, and a fit companion for a minister's study. Deeply interesting 
and Instructive in the subject of . hich it treats, and abounding in striking pictorial illustrations, it should be in 
every household to assist parents in ti e studj- of the Bible, and also to teach the knowledge of it to their children. 
Sabbath-school teachers will find it an excellent help in rreparing themselve to meet their c asses in the most 
interesting and instructive manner, and ail who desire to enr ch their minds and hearts with the treasures of God's 
Word will find this volume of inestimable value to them. 

J. HAWES, Hartford, May 12, 186". 

From Kev. G. M. Qonld. 

No modern writer has contributed more largely to enrich the Biblical literature of our time, or to clothe with a 
fresh and livino^interest the main personages and iucidents in Old-Testament history, than John Kitto. The pres- 
ent volume, " History of the Bible," bears all the mai ks of his wide learning, patient and accurate scholarship, fer- 
vent piety, and graceful and popular style. Tiie book is amply and finely illustrated, and edited by a competent 
American scholar. Rev. Alvan Bond, D.D., of Norwich. It t'eserves a wide circulation among all who love and 
prize the Bible. G. H. GOULD, Paste r 1st Congregational Church, Hartford, Conn. 

From Rev. R. S. Storrs, ]>.I>. 

" The " Illustrated History of the Bible " by Dr. Kitto, edited by Dr. Bond, contains a great amount of valuable 
matter in a small compass, and will be found by those who study it very helpful to a clear and large understanding 
ot the scriptural narrative. 

Brooklyn, N.Y., Nov. 16, 1866. R. S. STORRS, Jr. 

From Rev. eTohn P. &alliver, S.O. 

" Kitto's Illustrated History of the Bible " appears to be a narration of the facts recorded in the tscriptures, with 
the addition of a brief history of events down to the destruction of Jerusalem, written in a sinuiie and attractive 
style, and free from the minuteness of detuil which often renders more recondite works tmfit for popular use. It 
seems specially adapted to the wants of Sabbath Schools and Bible Classes. The names of the author and editor 
furnish an ample guaranty of the trustworthiness of the work. 

JOHN P. GULLIVER, Pastor of New-England Church, Chicago. 

From Rev. IS. I>. Phelps, !>.]>. 

From what I know of the writings of Dr. Kitto, and from the specimens of the " History of the Bible " which 
I have seen, I am sure it will be a work of grtat interest and value. The editorial labors of the Rev. Dr. Bond, 
together with its many excellent and life-like illustrations, cannot fail to largely increase the interest and value of 
the work. I cheerfully commend it. 

New Haven, Aug. 6, 1866. S. D. PHELPS. 

From Prof. Pond, and others, of Rancor, Me. 

The service which Dr. Kitto rendered to the world by his various writings, explanatory and illustrative of the 
Scriptures, it is difficult to overestimate. There can be no risk in saying that his " Illustrated History of t.'ie 
Bible " must be superior to any thing else of the kind within the same compass, and the name of the American Ed- 
itor is a sufficient guaranty that the work will not suffer in passing through his hands. The book will be a treas- 
ure in any family. 

ENOCH POND, ^ 
GEORGE SHEPARD, ( Professors 
D F. TALCOTT, ( Theo. Sem. 
J. R HERRICK, 

Rev. A. P. K. SMALL, Rev. J. B. GOULD, Rev. G. W. FIELD, Rev. D. GOODWIN, Rev. S. L. B. CHASE, 
Rev. S. P. FAY, Rev. A. BATTLES, Rev. B. A. CHASE. 

The very high rank which John Kitto holds as a Biblical student justifies me in most heartily recommending 
his " History of the Bible " as a work of complete reliability and of popular interest. 

C. C. EVERETT, Pastor Unitariaa Church. 
(705) 



6 



From Rev. Robert Allyn, D.T>., of Illinoig. 

I have CTamincd with considi-rable attention " An Illustrated History of the Holy Bible," by Dr. Kitto di 
England, published by Henry Bill of Norwich, Conn. It is a work of great research, fuUv equal to any other 
work by the same distinguished author, whose life haa been devoted to the study and 'illustration of bible 
learning and literature. The work contains a Historic and Literary Introduction; a connected account of the 
events recorded in the Bible; a narrative of the events occurring between the writing of the Old Testament and 
the New, and a Life of Christ and his Apostles. All these things are not only useful but absolutely neceBsarv 
for the information of Ministers and Sunday-school officers and teachers. Indeed, every intflligcnt Christian or 
reader of the Bible ought to possess a copy of this book to be kept on the shelf with "the Word of God Th'- 
work has been carefully edited and revised by Dr. Alvan Bond of Norwich. Conn., whose accurate schnlnrship and 
extensive learning add a new value to the book. I can very cortlially and conscientiooslv commend thiR 
History of the Bible to all who desire to know more of the oldest and best and most original of alf books. 

ROBERT ALLYN 

McKendree CoUege, Lebanon, St. Clair Co. 111., July 5, l&ST. Pres't McKendree College. 

From Rev. T. N. Pelonbet. 

Mr. Kitto's name is a guaranty that whatever comes from his pen is valuable and interesting and worths' 

of all confidence. 

From an intimate acquaintance with some of his other works T judge that this "Illustrated History of 
ihe Bible " must be profitaole in any family. T. N. Peiocbet. 

From Rev. Nelson Clark. 

The " History of the Bible," I am acquainted with, and can recommend it as a very interesting book, and 
an important aid to the Bible reader. Neu8om Ci.ark. 

Somerset, Mass., June 29, 1866. 

From Rev. T. C, Tinsley. 

From the high and well-known reputation of the autlior of the book (for which the bearer is agent), I beliere 
at will be a veiy valuable and h ghly instructive and interesting work, very important for family reading, 
well as for the learned student of the Bible. 

Somerset, Ma^js., June 20, 18G6. T. C- Tinglkt, Pastor Baptist Church, Somerset, Mass. 

From Rev. E:clgar F. Clark, of Norwich. 

Kitto, the author, is the best recommendation and the only one needed. It cannot fail to add a charm to 
the Sacred Oracles, and tit it eminently for home-reading. As tar as it is known, the work has had and is having; 
an extensive sale, far exceeding tiie most sanguine expectations of the publisher. 

Edgar F. Clark, Pastor M. E. Chorch, Norwich, Conn,. 

From Rev. Moses Sraitli. 

John Kitto was entiinently fitted to illustrate Bible truths. He was an earnest Christian, a laborious mis- 
sionary in the region of bible scenes, and a most indefatigable student. I most clieeifully recommend lii? 
" Illustrated History of the Bible," edited by the worthy Dr. Bond, to niy people. 

Plainvillc, May 12, 18G6. .Moscs Sjiite, Pastor CongregatioBa) Chorch. 

From Rev. 0ioah I orter, O.D., and otbers. 

Kitto 18 one of the best writers of onr age on the Scriptures. I have no doubt that his "■TTTustrated History 
the Bible" is an excellent book, and particulail^ desirable for ^^abbath-8chool schoUrs oi leaebers. 

Noah Poxter. 

I cordially subscribe to what has been written above. The book is one of great valne for family reading and 
study of the lioly Scriptures. L. L. PAint. 

From what 1 know of Kitto's works I fully believe this will be o very valuable book. I espeeraDy reeommend 
it to Sabbath-school teachers. E. S. H*rt. 

I consider Kitto's ''Illustrated History of the I ible " a work that will be of permanent interest to all who lo'- t 
to study the Bible. Samuxl S. Cowlis- 

From Re. Wm. M. Tftayer. 

To WHOM IT MAT COITCEEIT: — I have been familiar with the works of Dr. Kitto, and hare several of thtm 
in my library, so that I feel prepared to say that bis " History of the Bible " is one of the most valuable works for 
the family that ean be purchased. For parents and children, Sahbfith-school teachers atMi scholars, its value 
cannot be over-estimated. Its introduction into every household would jH-ove a great blessing to them as well as 
to the public. 

Franklin, Mass., July 18, 18e& VfM. M. Thayer. 

From Rev. Gould Anthony. 

"With my limited examination I should judge the "History of the Bible," for which Mr. Kingsley is the 
agent, might be an interesting and profitable book to those who desire a knowledge of God's dealing with man. 
North Dartmouth, August?, 186&. Gould Anihont. 

From Rev. J. M. Lord. 

I have two or three of Kitto's works, which I prize very highly, and I bare bo donirt the wort is of singnbr 
■value; I feel a freedom to recommend this "History of the Bible ."^ 

South Dartmouth, August 8, ISGG. J. M. Lobd. 

From Rev. D. N. Thrall. 

Dr. Kitto being widely known as a learned and judicious historian of the Scriptures, T ean saffely recommend 
Ms work upon the Bible to my people, as a valuable aid in their studies of the sacred Word. 

GEORGE £. THRALL, Rector of the Church of the Messiah- 
Clinton Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y,, Nov. 17, 1866. 

From Rev. D. W. Sloore. 

Dr. Kitto's " History of the Bible "is an excellent work, well stored with useful information on the best of 
all subjects, and must prove a valuable aid to a proper understanding of the divine Word. It will be found 
especially helpl ul in elucidating the historic portions of the Bible, and will well repay a careful perusal. 

iiroo'klyn. N.Y., Nov. 21, l^ili. D. MOORE, Pastor Washington Ave. Baptist Church. 

From Rev. Edw. ^tronor» D.D. 

The " History of the Bible," by so eminent a scholar as Dr. John Kitto, needs no recommendation. If it did, 
the fact that Kev. Dr. Bond has edited the American edition, offered to the public by Henry Bill of Norwich, 
Conn., should tommend it to the entire confidence of Christian citizens. The work cannot be read, I think, 
without great interest and great profit. 

PHtjifield, Mass., Nov. 19, 1866. Ew». Stkosg, Pastor So. Cone. Chnrch. 

(706) 



7 



From Rev. Samuel Wolcott, D.D. 

In the Author of this work. Dr. Kitto, who has devoted his life to Biblical investigation and exposition, 

and in Dr. Bond, who is widely known as an able, sound, and judicious divine, we have every security that 
in its execution it i 8 all that it claims to be. I am certain that no one can read through this connected and 
illustrated " History of the Bible," carefully compiled, without finding that he has enlarged his knowledge of 
the contents of the Sacred Volume, and is enabled to bring to the perusal of detached sections of it, a clearer 
insight and intelligence. 

Cleveland, Nov. 26, 1866. Samuel Wolcott. 

From Rev. Edward Goodrich. 

I regard Dr. Kitto's " History of the Biblp," as a most instructive and interesting work, for the general reader. 
Its Author has attained eminence as a Bible scholar, and has long been a popular writer upon subjects connected 
with the sacred volume. 

Glastenbury, Conn., Oct. 24, 1866. Edwakd Goodejch, Pastor of St. James Ch. 

From Rev. J. li. M'Nair. 

I have for several years, been acquainted with Dr. Kitto's writings, and am confident that any thing which 
comes from his pen, possesses rare merit. 

Marbletown, New York. J. L. M'Naie, Pastor Keform Dutch Church. 

From Rev. Andrew Pollard, D.D. 

The works of Dr. Kitto, illustrative of the Bible, are of high excellence. I most cordially recommend his 
"Illustrated History of the Holy Bible" to all who desire accurate and thorough knowledge of the Sacred Word. 
It will be a treasure to any family. AXDREW POLLARD, D. D. 

Taunton, Jan. 8, 1867. Pastor of Winthrop St Baptist Church, Taunton, Mass. 

From Rev. liyman White. 

I regard Dr. Kitto as an able, correct, and instructive writer upon the Bible, and can fully recommend hi 
work (The Illustrated History of the Bible) as a valuable contribution to our biblical literature. 

LYMAN WHITE, Pastor Congregational Church, Phillipston, Mass. 

From Rev. Henry Ij. Jones. 

The narrative is concise, clear, and attractive, as well as faithful. Here and in the notes we have, in simple 
language, the result of the latest and ripest scholarship. A copius Index makes it an excellent book of refer- 
ence tor the biblical student connected with the Sabbath School. 

HENRY L. JONES, Rector Christ Church, Fitchburg, Mass. 

From Rev. Joseph Cr chore, 

I cordially recommend the " Bible History," by Dr. Kitto, to ail who are interested in the study of the Bible. 
It 13 one of the most valuable aids to the Christian student, an interesting work for the family, and especially 
•erviceable to the Sabbath School Teacher. JOSEPH CREHORE, 

Pastor Universalist Church, Fitchburg, Mass. 

From. Rev. M. Emory Wright. 

"The Illustrated History of the Holy Bible" has alreadv been of great service to me in ray studies of the 
holy Scriptures. It presents the narrative portion of the divine word in a simple and easy, yet highly fas- 
cinating etvle, besides interweaving many historical facts and explanations, which throw great lisht upon the 
meaning of the sacred text. M. EMORY WRiGHT, 

June 24, 1867. Pastor 1st Methodist Episcopal Church, Newburyport, Mass. 

From Rev. H. G. Hinsdale. 

My acquaintance with the "Daily Bible illustration," the " Cyclopsedia of Biblical Literature," and " Histo- 
ry of Palestine," b^ Dr. Kitto, lead me to welcome the publication in this country of his " Elustrated History 
of the Bible," as bringins within the reach of the Christian public an attractive and valuable help in the study 
of the Word of God. One of its important features is the history of ttie four centuries intervening between the 
close of the Old and the opening of the New Testament. The name of the American editor affords additional 
guaranty of the value of the book. H. G. HINSDALE, 

Bridgeport, Conn., April 22, 1867. Pastor Presbyterian Church. 

From Rev. Richard Tolman. 

*' This is to certify, that I have long been acquainted with Dr. Kitto, as a writer on biblical subjects, having 
eight of his volumes in my library. I regard his volumes as eminently rich in instruction, and well suited to 
the common reader. I do therefore most cordially recommend the " Illustrated History of the Bible," believing 
that it needs only to be read to be highly esteemed." RICHARD TOLMAN, 

May 3, 1887. Pastor Congregational Church, Tewksbury, Mass. 

From Rev. Samuel H. Tolman. 

"Very cheerfully do I add my testimony to the value of Dr. Kitto's writings ; and especially the " History 
of the Bible " is eminently adapted to aid in the study of the Scriptures. As a Book of general and popular 
interest, it must be very useful, and be everywhere well received. As long as New England loves the Bible, will 
they love that which illustrates and explains the Bible. SAMUEL H. TOLMAN, 

May 11, 1867. Pastor Congregational Chtirch, Wilmington, Mass. 

From Rev. J. H. Means. 

From my knowledge of Dr. Kitto's writinss on biblical subjects, and from the standing of Dr. Bond, the edi- 
tor of the present work, I have no doubt it will be found a reliable and instructive guide to the contents of the 
Scriptures. J. H. MEANS. 

Dorchester, Dec, 1866. 

From Rev. John E. Falkner. 

I have examined Dr. Kitto's History of the Bible, edited by Rev. A. Bond, D. D., and find it a most valuable 
work. It is a very desirable book, both for the critical student and for the general reader. 

Dr. Kitto is 80 well known as an exact and profound pcholar, an earnest Christian, and an interesting writer, 
that any work, coming from his pen, ought to be, and I doubt not will be, warmlv welcomed bv all classes 
who take the least interest in biblical studies. JOHN B. FALKNER, 

Bridgeport, Conn., April 22, 1867. Rector Christ Church, Bridgeport, Conn. 

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From Rev. George W. Ryan. 

Kitto, as authority in Biblical history, stands in the estimation of scholars as iinTivalled. I take pleasure in 
recomractiding his History of the Bible as a work of merit, — a work hat should be in every familv in the land. 

Rev. Geobge W. Rvan, Paator Baptist Church,"Gardner, Mass. 

From Rev. M. Swick. 

I have no hesitation in recommending Dr. Kitto's " Illustrated Historv of the Bible." 

M. ZwiCK, Pastor, Reformed Dutch Church. 

From Rev. A. S. Chcsetorougli. 

I deem the " Illustrated History of the Bible " a work worthy of purchase and study by Christian people. The 
high standing of Dr. Kitto, the uuthor, an u biblical scholar, and the honored name of Dr. Bond, the t-dr.or, are 
guaranties of the superior and reliable character of this book. 

Glastenbury, Conn. A. S. Cheseboeough. 

From Rev. S. G. Buckingliam. 

The ability of Dr. Kitto in this department of scholarship, and the value of his writings, are well known to all 
Biblical students. And such a work as this W'Mild be sure to interest and profit any family. Its iiuuitrDiie and 
nice illus rations add to its worth. 1 cheerfully commend it as an interesting and usi ful work to thl> conimunity. 

Springfield, Mass. S. G. Blckingham, 

Pastor South Congregational Church. 

From Rev. H. G. L-ncIlow, D.D. 

The name of Kitto, as the author of a work, well risrh renders it unnecessary fir the publisher to annex cer- 
tificates of its value. This beautiful edition of the "Illustraied Biide Hist<iry," with its numerous and excellent 
plates and notes, cannot fail to have an t xtensive sale, as it meets the wants of all who are desirous to a^ctrtain ttie 
meaning of the "Lively Oracles of God." U. G. Ludlow, D.D. 

From Rev. Edward W. Bently. 

Few men have done more than Dr. Kitto to advance a knowledge of the BiWe. I can therefore most cordially 
recommend the present work. 1 know Dr. Bond, and know that he is ahun'laui'y qnaiiiied to do his part well. 

Edward W. Bentlv, Pastor, R. P. D. Church, 

From Rev. S. Graves, D.D., Norwich, Conn* 

I have examined the "Illustrated History of the Holv Bible," and find it an rnterest'ng and valuable book, 
worthy of the candor and )>iety of its di>tingnished anthor. lir. Kitto. Tt is a volume of grf at value to all Bible 
students, and should be in the hands of ever\ Sumlay-schodl and Bible-class Teacher. The Editor and Publisher 
0^ the American Edition have shown excellen; judgment and taste in their part of the work. 

Norwich, Conn., Oct 22, 1866. S. Graves, Paator of the Central Baptist Church. 

From Rev. Z. M. Humphrey, D.D. 

I have examined Dr. Kitto's " Illustrated History of the Bible " so far as to satisfy myself that it is a valuable 
work for Biblical students. It will be found especially useful to Sunday-school teachers and Bible-classes. 

Z. M. Ht MPHKEY, D.D., 

Chicago, Feb. 25, 1867 Pastor Ist Pre»b> terian Church. 

From Rev. W. W. Patton, D.O. 

!sed above by Rev. Dr. Humphrey. 

W, PATIO^, D.D., Pastor of 1st Congregational Church, Cliieago. 



1 cheerfully coincide in the judgment expressed above by Rev. Dr. Humphrey. 

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From Rev. R. W. Patterson, D.D. 

I fully coincide in the opinion expressed above by Dr. Hnmphrev and Dr. Patton. 

R. W. Patteksou , D.D., Pastor of 2a Presbyterian Church, Chicago. 

From Rev. Arthur Swazey. D.D. 

I coincide in the opinions above expressed by Drs. Humphrey, Patton, and Patterson. 

Aktuuk Swaze V, D.D., Pastor of 3a Presbyterian Church, Clueago. 

From Rev. W. W. Everts, D.D. 

The history of a book, as of a man, rises in importance with its greatness. As the Bible has achieved more for 
the world than all other books, its history is more important than that of universal literature, Kitto's work has been 
prepared with such accuracy and fidelity as to be a proper companion of the Bible in the public or private library, 

W, W. Everts, D D., 

Chicago, Feb. 29, 1867. Pastor of 1st Baptist Church. 

From Rev. E. J, Goodspeed. 

The interest of the Bible narratives is really diminished by its being broken up into chapters and verses. Dr. 
Kitto, one of the ripest scholars of Europe, has given us here a continuous, harmonized history of events recorded 
in the Bible, and thus ('ontributed to the clearer understanding and the more thorough appreciation of God's deal- 
ings with mankind. I cheerfully commend the work. 

E. J. Goodspeed, Pastor of 2d Baptist Church, Chicago. 
From Prof. David Swing. 

I do not believe that any one could have conceived of or produced a work in this field of thought and labor 
that would surpass this one of Dr. Kitto in its promise as to interest and usefulness. It makes the disjointed facts 
of sacred history into quite a complete story, and thus enables the memory to hold the truth, and the heart to love 
its study. Prof. David Swing, Pastor of Westminster Church, Chicago. 

From Rev. Robert Laird Collier. 

From the examination I have been able to give Dr. " Kitto's History of the Bible," I am free to give it vr.r 
hearty commendation. The Bible and all its literature centre so fully in the great purpose of God to save tht- 
Irorld, through Jesus Christ, that I hear with gratification of the publication of a work by so eminent an author as 
»r. Kitto, which puts in so brief a space matter of such eternal importance. 

Robert Laird Collier, Pastor of Church of Messiah, Chicagcfc 

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From Re-v. Tliomas M. i:ddy, ]>.I>. 

Dr. Kitto needs no commendation from me or any one else: his reputation is world wide. The volume here 
presented is one of value to the professional l)iblical stuJent, while to the general reader, whose library is not 
Slocked with works on interpretation, it is invaluable. I ^ive it my hearty commendation. 

Thomas M. Eddy, D.D., Editor Northwestern Christian Advocate. 



rrom Rev. X. A. Hyde. 

The world-wide reputation of Dr. Kitto and the scholarship of the editor, Rev. Alvan Bond, D.D., are, in my 
judgment, an entirely satisfactory guaranty for the value ot this book. 

Rev. N. a. Hyde, Pastor of Plymouth Church, Indianapolis, Ind- 



From Kev. F. C. HolUday, ».!>. 

The high reputation of Dr. Kitto as a biblical scholar, his famijarity with the entire range of sacred literature, 
and the acknowledged learning and ability ot Rev. Dr. Boud, the editor, furnisl: a satisfactory guaranty of the 
value of this work. F. C. Hollidat, D.D., Indianapolis, Ind. 

From Elder O. A. Hargess. 

Dr. Kitto, one of the most eminent of biblical scholars, both thoroueh and comprehensive in his literary 
researches, author of various valuable and standard reliiious w ni ks, will doubtless connect, in his Illustrated His- 
tory of the Bible, both history and commentary, in such a manner as to render it, under the labors of the editor. 
Rev. Dr. Bond, one of the most convenient, instructive, and useful books of the day. 

Eldeb O. a. Buegess, of Christian Church, Indianapolis, Ind. 

From Rev. H. Bross, R.D. 

I take great pleasure in recommending this work to the families of the parish, and I should be glad if it could 
find its place in every household. Rev. H. Beoss, Millburn, 111., Jan. 19, 13b7. 

From Rev. W. C. Ricbards. 

The examination I have been able to make of Kitto's "Illustrated History of the Bible" has satisfied me of the 
great excellence and worth of i he nook. The work i-: ^iinpie and clear in its plan, graphic and attractive in its 
style, copious and trustworthy in its irformation, and imbued with a spirit of catholic and active piety. I take 
pleasure in commending it to all classes of readers who prize and desire to know the word of God. 

W. C. Richaeds, Pastor Baptist Church, Pittsfield. 

From Rev. <J. R. Cleveland. 

The History of the Bible, by Dr. Kitto, a book of uncommon merit, instructive and exceedingly interesting, 
and which oujrht to be possessed by every family in the lanrl, ia now being circulated in this region. It is an inval- 
uable Bible illuminator, and riuhiy deserves the liberal patronage it is receiving. Its history of events du ine the 
400 years interv ening between the Old-Testament dispensation^aod the New, is of very great value, and ought to 
be read by all persons professing to respect the Bible. 

New Harttbrd, Conn. J. B. CLEVELATfD, Pastor Cong. Church. 

From Rev. C. H. A. Bulkley, and others. 

To the Members of the Brooklyn Young Men's Christian Association, and others : 

Dr. Kitto's Illustrated History of the Bible, edited by Dr. Bond, is unquestionably a work of value, well 
worthy of perusal and study by every one interested in the Scriptures. For teachers of Bible classes and Sabbath 
Schools it is of great service. C. H. A. Bulkley, 

Cnaplain and Actuary of the Brooklyn Young Men's Christian Association. Brooklyn, April 10, 1867. 

I most cordially give my influence to the sale of Dr. Kitto's History within recommended. 

Wm. G. Leonard, Pastor M. E. Chuich, ^T'lford, Mass. 
J. B. Thoknton, Jr., Pastor Cong. Church, Mihord, Mass. 

Dr. Kitto's History of the Bible is a valuable work, and, so far as it goes, gives great aid to the student of the 
Holy Scriptures. I cheerfully commend it to all interested. 

G. G. Jones, Pastor of Episcopal Chtirch, Milford, Mass. 
L. Ceowell, Pastor of M. E. Church, Milford, Mass. 

Dr. Kitto's reputation as an author warrants me in saying that his History of the Bible is an invaluable help 
to the student of the word of God. E. H. Page, Pastor Baptist Church, Milford, Mass, 

From Rev. Samuel A. Clark. 

I have no doubt the History of the Bible, by Dr. Kitto, will prove a valuable addition to the library of every 
one who may subscribe for it, and I should be glad to see it extensively circulated. 

SAMtJEL A. Claek, Pastor St. John's Church, Elizabeth City, N.J. 

From Rev. Oeo. I>e F. Folsom. 

The undersigned confidently commends to the members of his parish the work of Dr. Kitto, as beinsr what its 
title indicates, a " History of the Bi'>le." Geo. De F. Folsom. 

Fair Haven, Conn., May 7th, 1867. 

From Rev. KTenry I. Van I>ybe. 

Dr. Kitto is universally recognized as a writer of profound learning end sincere piety. Few men have suc- 
ceeded as he has, in putting the results of Biblical criticism into an attractive and simple form. His " Illustrated 
History of the Bible " is an excellent work, well suited to make the word of God more intelligible to readers of all 
ages and capacities. It will be a vnluable addition to the hnnsehold treasures of anv Christian faniilv. 

Heney I. Van Dyke, Pastor of 1st Presb^ terian Church, Brooklyn, N.Y., April 30th, 18G7. 



From Rev. R. K. IL.oomi8. 

The undersigned ha? examined Kitto's Bible History, and fully and most cheerfully recommends the book 
to the members of his chuich end congregation. Sabbath-school teachers will find it an inval'iable aid in the 
study of the Bil^le. R. H. Loojus, Pastor M. E. Church, Fair Haven, Conn. 

From Rev. J. ». Kyle. 

I heartily concur in the above statement in regard to Kitto's History of the Bible. 

Fall River, Mass, J. D. Kyle, Pastor United Presbyterian Church. 

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From Rev. A. M. Wy^lie. 

I am in iKJsseseion of Dr. Kitto's Daily Bible readin?8, and consider them to be among the mo«t ralnable 
productions in iny library, and trom tlie veil known character of the distinguished author we feel safe in assuring 
any one who may purchase a work from the same pen. 

Fall River, jyiass. A. M. Wtlie, Rector of Aacennon Church. 



From Rev. Jolm Dimcan, D.D. 

Dr. Kitto's History of the Bible is a work of great value — every student of the sacred volume will hert find 
an estimabie mass of information and illustration. I know of no similai work that coi tains so many 
excellences. Rzv. Johx DocAif . D. D. 

fall River, Mass., May 30, 1867 Pastor 2d Baptist Chureh. 

From Rev. S. W. Butler. 

My hearty concurrence in the above is manifest by my agnatnre. 8. "W. Bctleb, 

Pastor Franklin St. Christian Society. 

From Rev. E. Thurston. D.D. 

I have before recommended Dr. Kitto's History of the Bible to the people of this place, and take pleasure in 
repeatiug that every family and Sabbatii-school teacher, and indeed every student of the BiLle, will tind a great 
help in this work in his ttudv of God's word. 

Fall River, Mass., June 1, 1867. E. THUESToy, D. D., Pastor 2d Cong. Church. 

From Rev. P. B. Hangbwort. 

I am familiar with Dr. K's works, and his great reputation as an author is a sufficient guarantv of the excel- 
lence of any work that bears his name. P. B. Haughwoet, 

Pastor Irt Baptist Church. Fall River, Mass. 

From Rev. Geo. Bowler. 

I heartily concur in the above recommendation. Geo. Bottler, 

Fall River, Mass., May 31, 1867. Pastor St Paul's M. E. Church. 

From Rev. Clias. W. Buck. 

As a compendious arrangement of the Bible narratives, I should think that Kitto's History would be of great 
use to the Bib lie; 1 student Chas. "W. Bcck, 

Fall River, Mass.. June 1. 1867. Pastor Unitarian Church, 

From Rev. J D. King. 

I consider " Kitto's History of the Bible " an invaluable aid to consecutive biblical study, especially for 
those who have but little time, and have not access to large Ubraries. 

Respectfully yours. J. D. Kii? G, 

Fall River, Mass., June 1, 1867. Pastor First M. E. Church. 

From Rev. C. S. Brown. 

The name of Dr. Kitto, is a sulficient recommendation of his work. 

C. S. Bsowir, Presiding Elder M. E. Church. 



Prom tHa Norwich CConn.> Bulletin. 

Kitto's ninstrated History of the Bible is a work that even upon the most superficial examination, rtronsly 
impressBo its merits upon tht- mind of any person who is at all interested in the sacred writings. The plan of the 
work is in itself a recommendation. The narrative is enriched by critical and explanatory notes, carefully selected 
from the resuits of long years of severe and intelligent labor. These notes are necessarily brief, but they happOy 
meet the wants of the general reader, who cannot tind the time to wander thi-ough a wilderness of cominentaries, 
and indeed are in many cases sutfii.'ieut for the more critical student. For the preparation of this part of the work 
the eminent author was peculiarly well qualified. He brought to the illustration of t ie Sacred Scriptures a living 
knowle.ige of Eastern manners, traditions, geography, and "natural history, acquired during tiiree years of travel 
in the Holy Land, and adjacent countries. To the knowledge acquired duiing these orisiDal researches, was 
added tlie fruit of a quarter of a century spent in most careful study. It is said ofhim Chat fie was in the habit of 
going several miles to the British Museum, in the readir.g-r.^om of \ hich he spent six hours a day consulting rare 
Rnd expensive bonks : and usualh when laboring in his'own study he devoted sixteen hours a day to the prepa- 
ration of his publications. As the result of such research, such experience, and such lahors, the contributions 
made by Dr. Kitto. to biblical literature, have been of the greatest value — the crown of all being the History of 
the Bible now under consideration. 

The publisher, Henry Bill, of this city, was fortunate in bein^able to secure forthe preparation of this edition, 
the services of Rev. .-\lvan Bond, D.D., who brought to his editorship, a ripe and accurate scholarship, and an 
enthusiasm for the work, which have not only given the present volume an increased value to the general reader, 
but have made it a rare monument to his own Christian culture. 



Fron the Norwich CConn.) Aurora. 

Kitto's iLLrsTEATED History of the Bible. — It is but a few months since it was annotmced that a new 
American edition of this cele orated work was in the course of preparation, by Rev. Dr. Bond, of this city, and was 
to be introduced to the public by our townsman. Hon. Henry Bill. Yet the'orders for it have already reached the 
large numher of more than fifty thousand, and the demand is still unabated. It is emphatically, and in the best 
sense of the term, a popular book. It will make every family, where it is read, wiser and better." It interferes witn 
the sectarian prejudices of no man, for itis not a commentary on doctrinal points, but a plain, clear, and connected 
narrative from the point where the Bible commences down to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, A D. 
38. Any one,nota profesjional bitilical scholur, will acquire a far more distinct view of sacred history by reading 
this book than he will by reading the Bible itself, for the narratave is connected, and divested of all irrelevant 
matter. If we take any single character of the Bible — David as a striking example — we shall 4nd ali the events 
of his life gro'iped and connected with the vividness of a picture. And the manners and customs of the people at 
each epoch, their laws and religious observances, their great public works, and the political relations of States, are 
minutely described, and illustrated, not only according to the Bible narrative, but by all the lights tliat modem 
research and investigation can throw upon them. The work cannot be too strongly recommended to all, who 
would become familiar with Bible history, for their own improvement, or for the purpose of communicating the 
same to others. 



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From Sev. CP. Osborne and others. 

From a brief exaTination of the Prospectus of Kitto's " piustrated History of the Bible," and from the known 
reputation of the author and editor, I judge that the book wili be found to be a valuable aid in the study of God's 
word, and a haupv addition to the library of any family who may feel able to purchase it. 

Bristol, R.I., May S. 1S66. C. P. Osbokse. 

"We concur in the recommendations given above of Kitto's " Elustrated History of the Bible." 
T. Snowden Thomas, John Blain, J. Livesey, A. F. Spaulding, George Wheeler, Wm. C. Mills, Rector of 
St. Mark's Church. 

From Sev. «T. "W. I^ane. 

I can cordially commend Dr. Kitto's works. I am acquainted with Dr. Bond, the American Editor. I intend 
to take the book rnyself. 

J. W. LAifE, Pastor Cong. Church, "Whately, Mass. 



From Kev. E. B. Falrchild. 

, as a valuable auxiliary in the study oft 
author as a laborious student of the sacred record. E. B. Faiechild, Whately 



1 can recommend Dr. Kitto's work, as a valuable auxiliary in the study of the Bible, from myknowledge of its 

Mass, 



From Kev. Wm. A. Bartlett. 

This "Illustrated History of the Holy Bible," so accurate and graphic in its text and so helpftil and pleasing in 
its accompany ing plates, cannot rail to supply a popular need. We Mish it the success which the theme, the dis- 
tinguished author, and the decided merit displayed in its preparation, uemind- 

Wii. A. Baetlext, Pastor Elm-place Cong. Church, Brooklyn. N.Y. 

From Kev. A. X. rattlejohn, JB.B. 

Dr. Kitto's " History of the Bi'>!e " is a valuable Compend, and may be read with profit by all who desire to b€ 
improved upon the great subjects of which it trtri:t3. 

A. N. LiTTLEJOUx, D.D., Rector Holv Trinity Church. 

Brooklyn, X.T., Xov. 19, l'^»3o . 

From Kev. G-. H. Hosmer. 

Dr. John Kitto stands high as a Blo.ical scholar and critic, and I should think this work would be a valuable 
aid in the study of the Biblt". 

G. H. HossiEE, Pastor Unitarian Church, Deerfield, Mass. 

From Kev. Solomon Clark. 

For the past eight years, 1 have been intimately acquainted with Dr. Kitto's Biblical works. He possessed 
advantages seldom i.-;.joyed for preparins such a History nf the B.jlt; as is here presented to the public. These 
pages will be read hv individuals and families wi^h growing interest 

Plainfield, Mass.' Solojiox Claek, Pastor Congregational Church. 

From Rev. E. E. Cnmmlngrs. 

I have examined with some care Kitto's "History of the Bible Illustrated," and have formed a hish opinion 
of it, as a help in giving a knowledge of Holy Scripture. The embodied hist0;y cauuot fail to awaken a deeper 
interest in the facts contained in the Bible", while the notes throw additional light on the sacred text : and the 
illustrations give the needed inform.ition in regard to the l ustoms and habits of the times in which the Bible was 
written. I most cfiee-fullv bespeak for the wo. k a wide ci . culatinn. 

Concord, S.R., Dec. -jO, ISWi. £. E. CL'iiMiXGs, Pastor Pleasant-street Baptist Church. 

From Rev. A. F. V. Bartlett. 

I cordially concur in the numernus testimonies to the value of the "Illustrated History of the Holy Bible" 
by Dr. Kitto,'and I trust that i: may be widc.v received among the peoole of tne South Church. 

Concord, X.H., J>ec. M, 18t>j. ' A. F. V. Baetx.eti, Pastor South Cong. Chu.ch, 

From Rev. J. E. Adams. 

I value any thing from the pen of Dr. Kitto. His '• Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature," "Daily Bible Illustra- 
tions." •• ii^iccoriai Sunday Bouk;, ice," are rich sources of information on aU Bible matters. I refer to them witli 
aimost enti e coiindeT.ce that his conclusions are safe. This prepares me to recommend his " History of the 
Bible,' edited by ui. Bond. It must be valuable to any Bible stuaent, and espenally to the Sabbath-school Teach- 
ers. " J. £. Adams, PasLor First Cong. Church. 

Searsport, 'ile., July 10,1867. 

From Rev. Albert Church. 

This work is valuable as condensing information on the Bible which is thus made available to those to whom 
larger works are inaccessible. The readins of it mav excite ua interest in Biblical studies, and lead to a more ex- 
tensive acquaintance with that greatest andTjeat of books. Albert Chuech, 

Searsport, Me., July 10, iSbT. Pastor M. E. Church. 

From Rev. C F. Bartlett. 

The name of Kitto is a sufficient recommendation of whatever may come from his pen. His "Illustrated 
EBstory of the Bible " is unquestionably a work <if great value, and will prove an efficient helper in the depaitment 
of knowledge to wliich it belongs. As an aid to Bibie-classes, Sundav-school teachers, and scholars, I should 
judge it to possess rare merit. C. P. Baexlett, Pastor First Baptist Church . 

S«Qgwick, Me,, May 3, 1867. 

From Rev. Alfred E. Ives. 

The works of John Kitto, D.D.. have attained a wide ce'.ehritv, and I take pleasure in commending his " V.- 
lustratcd liistory of the Bible" to all who pri2;e the Hoiv Bib.e. 

CastLne, J ime 5,1867. " Alfeed E. Ives, Pastor Cong. Church. 

From Rev. C. L.. I»almer. 

The want of such a work has long been felt by all students of the Bible. The author, so well known to the 
li'^cary world, is sufficient evidence that it will be an invaluable work tor ail lovers of Bible History, and for ail 
who want to grow Lu the knowledge and wiidora of Christ. 

C. L. Palmer, Pastor M. E. Church, Brooksville, Me. 

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12 



From Rev. E. D. Towner. 

Dr. Kitto's works are among the very best in the whole range of Biblical Literature. Any thing from him 
illustrative of the great events and glorious characters ot the Old and Nf w Testaments is of sterling value and 
may be safely trusted; while the praise of Dr. Bond, the accomplished editor of the '• 11 ustrated History of the 
Bible," " is in all the churches." I cordially commend the work to the reading and religious i eople of thii place as 
one eminently fitted to interest and improve themselves and families. ' 

E. D. Townee, Pastor of Baptist Church, Hartford, N.Y. 

From Rev. Alfred. Emerson. 

The narrative is concise, clear, and attractive as well as faithful. Here and in the notes we have, in simple 
language, the result of the latest and ripest sch olarship. The history of the events which occurred between the 
closing period of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New, as well as at the destruction of Jerusalem, 
essentially add to its value. A copious index makes it an excellent book of reference for the Biblical students 
connected with the Sybbath School. 1 should be happy to learn that this volume had found a place in every 
family among my people. Alfeeo Kmerson, 

Fitchburg, Mass., May 14, 186". Pastor Cong. Church. 

From Rev. S. A. Collins. 

I most cheerfully recommend the "History of the Bible" by the distinguished Dr. John Kitto, whose attain- 
ments as a Biblical htudent are scarcely surpassed. The work will be a valuable aid to the study of God's Holy 
Word, and should be in every tamily. S. A. Collins, Pastor Baptist Church. 

Fitchburg, Mass., May 14, 1867. 

From Rev. M. 31. Long^ly. 

I have made a hasty examination of Dr. Kitto's " History of the Bible," and am exceedingly pleased. It can- 
not fail to be a valuable auxiliary in the study of the Bible, and will be a treasure to any family. 

Fitchburg, Mass., May 15, 1867. M. M. Lonoly, Pastor Trinitarian Church. 

From Rev. W. H. Hatcli. 

I can cheerfully recommend Dr. Kitto's work as a valuable auxiliary in the study of the Bible, which cannot 
but be of great advantage to all who desire a correct aud extensive knowledge of the sacred book. 

Fitchburg, Mass., May 15, 1867. W. H. Hatch, Pastor Methodist Church. 

From Rev. C. H. Webber. 

I consider Dr. Kitto's " Bible History" one of the best of his many able productions on Biblical research. 
Every Bible student should have it. 

C. H. Webber, Pastor Main-street Free Baptist Church, Taunton, Mass. 

From Rev. Samuel H Smith. 

The works of Dr. Kitto are held in very high repute by all Biblical students. They are distinguished for their 
general accuracy and great clearness. His "Bible History " I regard as among the most desirable of his produc- 
tions. Samuel H. Smith. 

East Bridgeport, May 10, 1867. Pastor M. E. Church. 

From Rev. A. McGregor Hopper. 

The " History of the Bible," by that distinguished scholar. Dr. Kitto, of London, I regard as a work of great 
value, and can therefore most heartily recommend it to the public. A. McGeegok Hopper. 

Bridgeport, Conn., April 17, 18!i7. 

From Rev. W. W. Dow. 

The author whose volume is here commended has through many past years laid a foundation broad and deep 
for the contidence of Chiistendom. has a wide reputation, gained by the devoted labor of mauy years. If 
people in general knew more in regard to ttie Holy Scriptures, they would prize the divine Word more highly. 
Such a volume as this which is now olfered is needed everywhere. 

BrooksvUle, June 13, 18G7. W. W. Dow, Pastor Congregational Church. 

From Rev. J. E. Rockwell. 

I have been familiar for many years with the works of Kitto, and have regarded them as among my most valua- 
ble aids in the study and illustration of the Holy Scripture. His " History of the Bible " is a collection in one volume 
of all the treasures of his learning ana resear' h._ Its illustrations are drawn from the most authentic sources, and 
altogether it forms a most valuable work for fimilies and all persons who desire to understand the Scriptures. I 
most cheerfully commend it to fll who may have the opportunity of possessing themselves of the book. 

Brooklyn, N.Y., April 97, 1867. J. B. Rockwell, Pastor Central Presbyterian Church. 

From Rev. S. Bixby. 

Knowing something of Dr. Kitto as an author, and from an examination of his " Illustrated History of the 
Bible," 1 have no hesitancy in recommending it as a work of great value. 

Westmoreland, Dec. 10, 1866. S. Bixby, Pastor Cong. Church. 

From Rev. Samuel S. Drake. 

This may certify that I am acquainted with the works of Dr. Kitto, an English author, possess them myself, 
and consider them invaluable. I am also personally acquainted with Dr. Bond, the editor wf this work, having re- 
ceived instruction from him, and know lum to be one of the first Biblical scholars in the country. It is therefore 
safe, in mv opinion, and of great utility, to possess Dr. Kitto's literary works. 

Deer Isle, JMe., May 2, 1867. Samuel S. Deake, Pastor Cong. Church. 

From Rev. Satli. Seaver. 

T have subscribed for the work herein named,— -ilthough the views contained in it are Trinitarian. I think it 
valuable. Dr. Kitto is a fine scholar ; anti his other works are held in high esteem by ail theological scholars. This 
book uiakes readable and interesting whit is often obscure in the common version. It also throws ligl^jt upon the 
later political condition of the Jewish nation. _ „ . ^, ^ 

Walpole, Dec. 3, 1806. Nath. Seavbk, Jun., Pastor Unitarian Church. 

(712) 



JSxperienced jigents (mate 07^ female), School Teachers, Sab- 
bath-school Teachers, Young Ji€en from, the country, and Hetired 
Clergymen, are wanted to act as Agents, in introducing into each 
Township and County in the United States and Canada, The 
^'Illustrated History of the Moly Sible,'' by Dr. John JTitto, 
I^.S.jL., edited by ^ev. jilran 'Bond, 2). 2)., of JVorwich, Conn., 
which is sold only by Subscription. 

Agents will not be required to canvass te^^ritory previously 
occupied, u?iless they choose, and all ^ooks remaini7ig unsold 
may be retur7ied at prices originally charged, if in good con- 
ditio7ij provided they are returned withi7i three mo7iths from 
the time of shipment. 

Any of 772y Agents, or a Subscriber to any of my T^ublications, 
#r any 'Post Master, School Teacher, or Cley^gyman, who is in- 
struTTzental in procuri7ig for 7ne a Successful Agent, and who 
sends me a Letter of Introduction to the parties wishing the 
Agency, will be e7ititled to receive for his t7^ouble the sum of Ten 
Dollars, and the same will be paid 07i applicatio7i, if t tie Agent 
has succeeded in selli72g one hundred copies. In this way, a 
Clergy?7ia7i, Age7it, or other person, can, with little trouble to 
himself, assist his frie7ids to useful and lucrative employment, 
Hid in the €irculatio7i of a valuable book, and add One j3^undred 
Dollars per An7iU7n to his 07vn i7ico77ie. 

Ten good Agents can be fou7id in almost a7iy community for 
a book of the high character of the Mistory of the ^ible. School 
Teachei^s, Sabbath-school Teachers, and Toung J^re7i from t/ie 
country, are almost sure to succeed. 'Persons wishing appoint- 
ments as Age7its, or to obtain fu7^ther information on the subject, 
will apply immediately (naming territory) at t/ie office of the 
SubscTriber, or address, by mail, 

HENRY BILL; - 



Norwich, Conn, 

(703) 



JUST PUBLISHED, 



AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY 



OF 



THE HOLY BIBLE, 

BEEfG A CONNECTED ACCOUNT OF THE KEMAHKABLE EVENTS AND DISTINGUISHED 
CHARACTERS CONTAINED IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, AND IN JEWISH 
HISTORY DURING THE FOUR HUNDRED YEARS INTERVENING BETWEEN THE 
TLME OF 3IALACHI AND THE BIRTH OF CHRIST, INCLUDING ALSO THE 
LIFE OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES; THE WHOLE EMBRACING A 
PERIOD OF FOUR THOUSAND TEARS; WITH NOTES CRITICAL, 
TOPOGRAPHICAL, AND EXPLANATORY; TOGETHER WITH 
CHRONOLOGICAL AND OTHER VALUABLE TABLES. 



By JOHN KITTO, 

Bottor of Divinity and Fdlow of the Society of Arts, author of " Cyclopcedia of BibUud 

Literature,^'' '■^History of Palestine,'''' cfc. 

Edited by ALVAN BOND^ D.D., 

Formerly Professor of Biblical Literature in the Theological Seminary at Bangor, Me,, 
and for 20 years Pastor of the Congregational Church, Norwich, Conn. 

Complete in one Royal Ociavo Volume of over 700 pages, embellished and illustrated 
by over 100 full-page engravings and colored maps, with extensive 
Chronological and other important Tables. 



The Publisher is confident that this work will be regarded by intelligent readers, and es- 
pecially by the lovers of Sacred Literature, as one of great interes't and value. It presents, in 
a clear aud beautiful style, a continuous history of the events embraced in the Sacred Record, 
describing the manners, customs, and religions that prevailed in the diSTtreut periods; narrat- 
ing the numerous couilicts that marked tlie progress and decline of nations, and furnishing 
biographical sketches of the individuals whose names are inscribed on the rolls of virtue and 
fame. This volume comprises an amount of varied and useful information that cost the 
author much labor and research, and which could be obtained from the original sources only 
at great expense. I: is contideutly commended as a book for the family circle, and especially 
for those engaged in the work of Christian instruction. 

The name of the Kev. Alvan Bond. D.D., by whom the work is edited, and who is well 
known as an accurate and accomplished Christian Scholar, is a sufficient guaranty that it is 
one of real interest aud merit. 

The numerous Engravings and Colored Maps that are found in the volume not only addi;o 
its beauty and attractiveness as embellishments, but illustrate, more accurately than words, 
the ancient customs and scenes which they represent. 

This work is approved and commended by all denominations of Christians. The success of 
Agents who have commenced to canvass for it, has exceeded the Publisher's most sanguine 
expectations, and experienced Agents say they never knew a book to sell so well. Some of 
the Agents are selling from twenty to forty copies in a day. Over One Thousand copies have 
been sold in Norwich. Conn., where the Editor resides. This great success of Aeents has so 
encouraged the i'ublisher that he has put to press, on the finest paper, over $400,000 worth of 
this work, to be immediately followed by other editions. 

These large editions require nearly'one hundred and fiity tons of paper, and require six 
months to print it on five large power-presses. 

This great work we design to place beside the Bible in every family in the land. 

For an Agency for this book, application should be made immediately, as the territory is 
being rapidly engaged. For further information, apply to the publisher,' naming townships 
jpreferred in the orOer of your preference. 



HEJS^BY BILLy H^ovwich^ Conn. 

(704) 



THE HISTORY 

OF THE 

CIVIL WAR m AMERICA, 

GSSUED IX THE E^fGLISH AXD GEMAX LANGUAGES,) 

C01IPRISrN'& A 

Full and Impartial Account of the Origin and Progress of the Rebellion, 
of the various Naval and Military Engagements, of the Heroic 
Deeds performed by Armies and Individuals, and of 
Touching Scenes in the Field, the Camp, 
the Hospital, and the Cabin. 

By J. S. C. ABBOTT, of Xe^v Hayex, Conn., 

AXTTHOE OF THE LiFE OF NaPOLEOX " HiSTORY OF THE Fp.EN'CH EeVOLUTIOX -j" " MOXAKCHIES 
OF Co>'Tl>"E>"TAL EuEOPE," ETC. 

Illustrated ^th ^laps, Diagrams, and numerous Steel Engravings of Battle 
Scenes, from original Designs bv Darler, and other eminent Artists, and over 60 
Portraits on Steel of Distinguished Men from both North and South. 

This work, complete in two volumes of over 1,100 large Royal Octavo pages, is 
now ready for delivery : and it is also issued complete in one volume of over 1,100 
pages, and the Agents can now take subscribers for the whole work, either m one 
volume or two= 

The author of this great work is well known by all literary men, as one of the 
most talented and popular historical writers, and his History of the Great Rebellion 
will not be surpassed in merit and attractiveness by any other that may be offered 
to the public. Xumerous Maps and Diagrams are interspersed through the book. 

The Illustrations are all from original designs, engraved on steel, by the best 
Artists, expressly for the work, and comprise Portraits of Distinguished Command- 
ers and Civilians, both North and South, with the prominent Battle Scenes of Sea 
and Land. 

Trusting the reader will regard this work as one of superior importance and 
value, and as eminently worthy a place in every library and family in the land, the 
Publisher with entire confidence solicits your influence in giving it the widest 
possible circulation. Tou will confer a favor by speaking of the work among your 
friends, and also by showing this Circular to some acquaintance who would be likel v 
to engage in its distribution. 

This is the best History of the War yet published, and has had the largest sale 
of any book on the war. More than 300,000 volumes have been subscribed for, 
requiring 375 tons of paper, and several power presses have been runnmg on the 
work (part of the time night and day), for some two years or more. Subscribers 
for the work who have obtained the first volume, but who have failed to see the 
Agent, may obtain the second volume by addressing the Publisher, 



HENRY BILL, Norwich, Coiul 

(713) 



A PICTORIAL 



istorg of tlje ||jto ®orto: 

CONTAINING A GENERAL VIEW OF ALL THE VARIOUS NATIONS, 
STA.TES, AND REPUBLICS OF THE 

WESTERN CONTINENT ; 

Comprising tlie early Discoveries by tlie Spanish, French, and other Navigators, 
an account of the American Indians, and a 

CO'MPLETE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE PRESENT TIME. 

Including the French and Indian Wars, the War of the Revolution, that of 1812, 
the late War with Mexico, and embracing the brilliant career of Washington, 
Wayne, Jackson, Taylor, Scott, Grant, and Sherman, and their compatriots, 
and a 

Complete History of the Rebellion to its Close. 

With an Appendix, containing important Public Documents, and closing with 
extensive and valuable Statistical Tables. 

EDITED BY 

JOHK LEDYAED DEOTSOlSr, A.M., 

AUTnOB OF THE " PiCTOKIAL IIlSTOKY OF THE WaKS ;" " PiCTOEIAL NXVAI. HiSTOET ;* 

" TuE New World," in German, eto. 

The whole illustrated with over Three Hundred Ennramngs, some of which are 
beautifully Colored by hand, true to Nature, consisting of Battle Scenes, Views of 
Cities, Flags of the various Nations, Prominent Events, and Portraits of Distin- 
guished Men, from designs by Lossing, Croome, Deveraux, and other celebrated 
American Artists. 

In one large octavo volume, containing about 900 pages, and illustrated with over 
300 Engravings, some of which are Steel, and many beautifully colored by hand, 
true to Nature, and will be boimd in embossed and gilt leather binding, with 
marbled edges. 

This work was so well received, that already it has been translated into the Ger- 
man Language, under the title of Illustrated New World (see opposite page), and 
about 30,000 copies sold in the German Language in this country alone, and large 
orders have been received from Germany, for the work in their language. 

dt^ For an Agency, apply to the Publisher, 

HENKY BILL, Norwich, Conn. 

(714) 



THE 



HISTORY OF THE WORLD: 

coMPEisma 

A GEJf^BBAL HISTOBY, BOTH: AJS^CIJENT ANJJ 
MODBBW, OF ALL THE I'BINCIJPAL 
NATIONS OF THE GLOBE, 

ETC., ETC. 

J\lmbracing a brief account of tlie Russian and Italian Wars, and a complete His- 
tory of the United States to the present time, including the War of tlie Revolution, 
that of 1812, and the late War with Mexico, the Administrations of the Presidents, 
and the brilliant career of Washington, Wayne, Jackson, Taylou, Scott, as 
well as Grant and Sherman, and their compatriots, and a brief History of the 
Rebellion to its close, with an Appendix, containing important PubliiB Documents 
and valuable Statistical Tables. 



By SAMUEL MAUNDEB,, 

Author of " The Treasury of Knowledge," " Biographical Treasury," Eia 

Edited by JOHN INI^IAN, Esq., 

Late Editor of the "New York Commercial Advertiser," 

And other distinguished American Authors. 

Ihe whole embellished with mimerous Engravings (beautifully Colored 
by hand, in imitation of Nature), representing Battle Scenes, 
Views of Cities, Prominent Events, Flags of the dif- 
ferent Nations, Coronations, Processions, 
Costumes, Etc., Etc., Etc. 

In Two large octavo volumes, containing upwards of 1,500 pages, and illustrated 
with thirty-two Colored Engravings, executed in the most modern style, after 
authentic pictures; together with a Chart of the Flags of various Nations, appro- 
priately colored, and bound in embossed and gilt leather binding, with marbled 
edges. 

The success that has attended this great work, since its first publication, is unpre- 
cedented . It has gone on increasing in its sale, until over three hundred thousand 
volumes have been sold. 

(715) 



In tl)e ©erman Canguage. 



THE 

ILLUSTRATED NEW WORLD: 

CONTAINING 

A GENERAL HISTORY OF ALL THE VARIOUS NATIONS AND 
REPUBLICS OF THE WESTERN CONTINENT; 

THEIR RISE, PROGRESS, AND PRESENT CONDITION. 

Comjyrishig early Discoveries by the Sjmnish, French, and 
other Navigators, an account of the American Indians, 
ivith a Comjylete History of the United States, from 
the First Settlement to the Present Time, 

INCLUDING A COMPLETE 

HISTOEY OF THE CIVIL WAR IN THE UNITED STATES, 

TO ITS C3L.OSE- 

Witli Geographical Descriptions of each State and Territory, an elaborate Appendix, 
with important Instructions to Emigrants, Washington's Farewell Address, and 
other Public Documents, Statistical Tables, etc., etc. 

EDITED BY JOHK L. DENISON", A.M., 

AND 

TRANSLATED BY GEORGE DIETZ, 

LATE TRANSLATOR FOR THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

The whole illustrated with over three hundred Engravings (many of which are 
splendidly colored), consisting of Battle Scenes, Views of Cities, Prominent Events, 
and Portraits of Distinguished Men, from designs of the most celebrated artists, in 
one large royal octavo volume, containing over 900 pages, executed in modern 
style, and bound in embossed and gilt leather binding. 

It is purely American in its character, and aims throughout to induct the immi- 
grant into all the manners, customs, and institutions peculiar to the United States, 
having for its object to Americanize this valuable element of our rapidly increasing 
population. 

This book has been issued but a short time, and already nearly 20,000 copies 
have been sold. 

(716) 



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